


Reversing Time

by Karinine



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:30:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 188,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8121799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karinine/pseuds/Karinine
Summary: The shinobi nations had been burnt down to the ground by the Ten Tails, but Sakura had been given a chance to change everything. To make everything right. However, and as years passed by, things would turn out to be so much more difficult than she'd ever imagined. Not your regular Time travel. Sasusaku. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH





	1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First of all, this is a story that I first posted on fanfiction dot com and already has over 180k words. So, I’ll be posting this in here at a rate of probably a chapter every couple days until I get to the chapter I’m currently working on (chapter 33).**

**I want to say that this time travel fic will move _far_ away from the original plot. It will become a complicated plot and it will include some interesting subjects that are not much developed in canon. However, it will only start doing so from the chuunin exams on. So bear with me for a while. I hope that you all enjoy!!**

**Naruto doesn’t belong to me. Neither do any of its characters.**

****

** CHAPTER 1 **

_Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank._

A cloaked figure was running through a burnt down forest. Ninja sandals were making an unusual noise on the charcoal ground, the expected softness of the leaf covered soil replaced by the hardness of an ash covered compact ground. The huge forest had been completely burnt to the ground, but it had probably been long ago, since the characteristic odor of burnt wood was completely gone by now. The landscape, now clear of tree foliage, was completely revealed and it was depressing; there was nothing else but burnt wood and ash. Not a single movement could be seen as far as the distant mountains ahead. The ecosystem and its fauna had been completely wiped out; everything was dead.

The figure was panting heavily, and its body seemed to be on its limits; legs shaking and occasionally stumbling because of the uneven terrain. Turning its head a couple times as it ran, the figure finally changed course clumsily and headed towards a rock formation not far from where it stood. Upon arriving, the person stopped running and sighed in relief at the sight of a deep cave. The figure, now walking at a slow pace, entered the cave and put its hood down, revealing a young woman. The faint light entering thought the narrow opening of the cave reflected on the rare pink hair that reached a bit past her shoulders and on her emerald eyes. Her face complexion was disheartening; her skin was too pale, her face was too scrawny and under her eyes were dark bags.

The woman crouched just by the opening of the cave and took an oil lantern out of a bag that had been hidden by her cloak. After lighting it up, the woman took off once again into the rocky formation. After a couple minutes of walking away from the outside, when the sunlight no longer could be even seen from the distance, she jolted in surprise and hurried towards a stalactite. There was water dripping from it onto the floor, and the woman crouched under it. She parted her cracked lips and closed her eyes as her mouth was filled with the life-giving liquid. When she had enough of it, she took a canteen out of her bag and put it under the dripping water. She sat down as it filled up and rested her head and back on the rocky wall behind her. When the bottle was filled, she put it away and closed her eyes. Her body was shaking from exhaustion and her mind was numb from the constant stress and angst that her life was now. Her previously strong limbs and muscles had become skinny - _too_ skinny – and were barely able to help her stand up. She had already become used to the now constant pain in her empty belly and the last time she had seen anything edible was a week ago, when she had killed the damned rabbit and eaten it with tears in her eyes. The last time that she had seen _anybody_ was _months_ ago. She seriously doubted that there were any living human souls anywhere in the ninja nations.

After relishing in the comforting feeling of water on her throat she let out a shaky breath and felt the adrenaline in her blood go down. Knowing that she would pass out soon, she moved her hand to turn the lantern off. Her tired body relaxed against the rocky wall behind her and she felt her eyelids close.

 

**-x-**

_She was crying her eyes out. Her throat was raspy due to inhaling too much smoke and she could barely speak. The ten tails had gone out of control a couple days ago, and almost every shinobi had died trying to fight it. It was fruitless, since humans weren’t supposed to try to control such a power. It had been the obvious result._

_Not only had everything gone to hell, but on her arms was her most treasured friend and teammate; Naruto. His blue eyes, previously filled with energy and joy, were now dull. Dead. His body was unnervingly cold and stiff. The pool of his own blood on which she had found him was cold too. Her hands and forearms were drenched in it, the feeling making her feel nauseous. She had been too late; he had been long gone when she had reached him. The feeling of guilt and uselessness was feeling her. He had given everything and she hadn’t been able to do anything to help him, or anybody. Her attempts had been in vain, as well as everybody else’s. Now death was all she came across._

_“Naruto…” she sobbed and her hand cupped his cheek softly. “I’m sorry. I’m going to miss you so much.”_

_After grieving for half a minute, she decided that she couldn’t waste more time, and walked a couple steps away from his corpse. She punched the ground, which cracked under her fist, and she went back to her blond friend. She picked him up and laid him on the hole she had created, kissing his forehead before covering him with dirt. When she was done, she placed a big rock next to his makeshift grave, so that people would now where he was resting. She gave on more look towards the spot where she was buried him and walked away._

_Suddenly, everything was black around her; void and black. She wondered if she was in some sort of genjutsu and wondered_ who _could be casting it upon her. She was_ glad _that there was someone alive. Not long after, all the darkness around her dissipated and she found herself in a different landscape. She was no longer on a valley, but walking up a mountain. She was wondering why she had appeared there when her eyes came upon another terrible view; as heartbreaking as the last one. In front of her, missing out on both arms and a leg, was an ebony haired young man dressed in a white robe. It was Sasuke._

_She was next to him in the blink of an eye and crouched to take a better look. She gasped when she saw that his eyes were open and he was looking into her own emerald ones. She quickly assessed the damage to his body and decided that, even though he had clearly lost too much blood, there was still a slim chance that he could be saved. She moved her hand to start healing him, but she was stopped._

_“Don’t.” He rasped out._

_“Sasuke…” she frowned. “You could still live.”_

_“Look around, Sakura. If I manage to live though this, I will be dead soon anyways.” He stated with great effort._

_Sakura didn’t want to admit it, but that was true. He was missing his two arms and a leg; even if she managed to stop the blood loss, he would probably die from an infection, since there was no way to find antibiotics now. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to move again, he would be a cripple and he would not make it like that. Every village and town was being destroyed by the ten-tails now, and there was no way to stop him._

_“I’m sorry.” His voice brought her out of her musings and she widened her eyes at his words. “I could’ve prevented this… if only I had made different choices.”_

_“Sasuke.” Sakura’s eyes softened, she didn’t even notice how she had dropped the ‘kun’ after so much destruction. “You didn’t know what was going to happen… and you did what you could. It’s true that you could’ve made different choices… but I understand that you didn’t because of the burden you carry.”_

_“Everyone will die now. Every living person.” Sasuke said with sorrow in his eyes. “I’m guilty.”_

_“I don’t think you are.” Sakura said and softly embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder. “And if you were, I’d forgive you.”_

_As she had her arms around him, she felt him chuckle softly and then exhale deeply. She moved back and stared at his face. His eyes weren’t blinking anymore and he had stopped breathing altogether. He had died filled with guilt and regret. And that fact broke her heart more than anything else ever had._

**-x-**

 

Sakura woke abruptly to find that she was surrounded by pitch black darkness and that she was lying on top of a rocky ground; she was still inside that cave. She was already used to having nightmares about her memories. She would always dream about the ten-tails going out of control, about Sasuke leaving, about Naruto dying. It had all happened almost a whole year ago, but it still kept her on edge all day long and she couldn’t rest at night. Sakura reached for the oil lamp and turned it one once again, the small flames lighting up the spot she was sitting on. She took out her canteen to take a long gulp of water and then moved it under the dripping stalactite to fill it up once again. As she was closing it up Sakura heard a noise and stopped the movements immediately. Not only was it completely unusual to hear noises nowadays, but also it sounded like a cough. A _human_ cough, maybe?

Her heart started pumping in her chest as she took hold of her lantern and the rest of her stuff. She stood up and sprinted towards the noise, which had come from a little further into the cavern. Not thirty seconds later, she stopped a couple meters away from a human figure against the wall. She tentatively walked towards it, hoping with all of her might that it wouldn’t be another dead body. When she was right next to it she knew; it was alive, but barely though. She could feel the flow of chakra on that body and could tell by the slight heat that radiated of it. The person had its head hung low and its face covered in shadows. As soon as Sakura stopped right next to it, a low chuckle was heard and its head looked up as the light of her lantern reached its features.

“It must be some sort of miracle, meeting you here.” Obito said with a weak voice. His body was on a terrible state, much worse than Sakura’s, and the only thing that made him clearly recognizable was his mismatched eyes.

“Obito!” Sakura’s eyes widened at the sight. “You are alive.”

“I would’ve died too, if it weren’t for the ten-tails attacking and giving me an opening to escape.” He stated and then his eyes looked down, in clear shame of his previous actions. “I fucked up.”

Sakura said nothing to that… what could she say? You are not guilty? It doesn’t matter, no big deal? We can still make things right? Even though he did realize his actions were mistaken, he really had fucked up pretty badly. There was nothing that she could say to help him feel better except…

“I’m sorry things turned out this way.” She murmured. “We have to try our best to survive now. Do you need me to heal you?”

“No.” he shook his head and the smiled slightly. “Sakura, I did mention to you that it was a miracle meeting you here.” Sakura nodded. “That’s not only because I thought I would never see anybody ever again. It’s also because I have been looking for you.”

“You have?”

“Yes. This past year I have been trying to atone for my mistakes and find a way to make things right. Of course there’s no way to stop the ten-tailed beast… we already know that. So I decided to work on a different way to make things right. I developed a jutsu that would allow everything to be undone by going back in time.”

“Time-traveling? Is that even possible?” her eye widened at that.

“Together with the sharingan and the rinnegan I believe I have developed a way.” He nodded at her question.

“That hard to believe… have you tried it yet?” Sakura frowned a bit.

“No, so the jutsu is actually only a _theory_ with no proof yet. I can’t be the one to travel back in time, because there is a problem with the jutsu… it’ll be incredibly destructive on the body. Whoever goes back in time would surely die in the process.”

“That’s why you were looking for me.” Sakura assumed. “You wanted to use my ability to heal myself automatically and send me back in time.”

“Yes.” Obito nodded again and looked down at his hands. “I really am not sure if it will work and maybe your ability will not be enough to withstand it. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but you’re the only one left with that ability. You know… since Tsunade-“

“I know.” Sakura interrupted him softly and locked eyes with him, determination shining in them. “I will do it. I’m pretty much dead anyways. I’m all alone, starving and thirsty most of the time. There’s nothing left for humanity in this world… there’s not anything left for any form of life anymore.”

“Are you sure?” Obito asked. “Maybe this timeline will cease to exist once you travel back in time and will never be able to come back. Also, I don’t know what will happen with the Sakura of that timeline… maybe she will disappear. Maybe you will take her place.”

“I don’t care about any of the consequences.” She put her hands on her hips. “We need to do something about _this_ even if it means death, because there’s nothing left for us. Don’t you see?” when she finished her sentence, Obito nodded quietly and Sakura’s eyes softened. “Are you even capable of performing the jutsu? Aren’t you out of chakra?”

“I have around half my reserves… I believe it should be enough to send you back around 6 years into the past.” He said. “Do you have enough chakra to use the Creation Rebirth Technique?”

“I do.” Sakura nodded. For the last year she had barely used any chakra, since she had been mainly running away and trying to find food, as had the little ninjas and people she had encountered. Therefore, she had managed to restore her reserves to the point they were before the war started.

Sakura moved to sit in front of Obito and stared at him in the eye for a couple moments. She was silent for a minute or two as she thought, taking into account all the information she had learned about the war and the ten-tailed beast.

“I don’t think anyone in the past it strong enough to take you on... not with the Akatsuki on your side. Naruto and Sasuke only become strong enough when all hell has already broken loose.” She murmured. “The only way I can think of stopping it all from happening again is finding you in the past… and somehow convince you to stop.” She finished her sentence and winced at how impossible it sounded.

“There’s only one way to convince me to stop.” Obito said and looked up at Sakura. “You need to show him my own memories. I can show them to you and you’ll have to find a way of showing them to him.”

“Do it.” Sakura nodded and looked into Obito’s sharingan. She took a deep breath in and allowed herself to be pulled into his Genjutsu.

Obito’s feelings for Rin, his quest to control the tails, his personal struggles and his final change of heart. All of those memories were squeezed into Sakura’s mind at full speed and made her head throb and ache. When she opened her eyes again, she was dizzy and disoriented.

“Gimme a minute.” She mumbled as she gasped for air. When she was feeling slightly better she looked back at Obito with a renewed sense of understanding. She wanted to say that she was sorry for what he had been through, but it was no use now. “All right. If that doesn’t do the trick nothing will.”

“We should do this now, Sakura. I don’t think my body will last much longer.” He stated and pointed to the center of the narrow cave. “Sit there and take your cloak off.”

Sakura nodded and did as he asked, sitting down with only a thin shirt and black shorts. He shakily walked towards her and it was only then that Sakura realized how weak his body truly was. He was severely malnourished and she could tell that his inner organs would fail anytime now. Sakura had to blink back the tears that threatened to build in her eyes. She stayed still as he bit his thumb and started drawing markings on the ground around her and on her whole body. The symbols and lines were so complex that he took over an hour to finally finish them all. She was covered in markings on her arms, legs, back, stomach, neck and face. She looked at him and noticed that he looked even paler than before – bordering a greenish color. She threw him an apologetic glance, thinking of the amount of blood that he had lost on that.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Not for long.” he answered and sat down in front of her. “Use your Creation Rebirth Technique now.”

Sakura closed her eyes and released her technique, her seal stretching and imprinting black lines down her face, neck and torso. When she opened her eyes she looked at Obito in the eye, knowing that it would be the last time that she would ever be alive in this timeline. Maybe it would even be the last couple seconds that she lived at all.

“So this is it.” She said.

Obito was about to say something, when they felt a presence nearing the cave. It was not just any presence; it was that _snake_. No, it was _not_ Orochimaru. It was Kabuto, which was a thousand times worse. Sakura didn’t care if he had supposedly joined the fight against the ten-tails in the end. She _didn’t_ trust him at all and he, being here, was a bad omen.

“Do it now!” she hissed in a low voice.

Obito didn’t waste any more time and started doing the seals at an incredible speed. Sakura was impressed at the fact that he managed to pull off such speed with the condition of his current body. Fifteen seconds later he had finished over two hundred hand signs and he looked up at her. When he did, the circles on his rinnegan shrank into a regular looking eye.

“Time Reversal no Jutsu!”

As soon as his hand slammed down on a specific seal on the ground, Sakura world was turned upside down. Everything became a sea of colors, like a madman’s dream. No forms could be distinguished and there was no clear up and down. Her body started aching so much that she thought she would die; stabbing pain filled her body in and out. Her cells started vibrating because of the rapid rate that her body needed to heal. Her mind was dizzy and dull because of the unbearable agony that she was in. She closed her eyes and tried to scream to release some of it, but her body was completely numb. She felt her chakra draining at such a fast rate that she wondered if she would make it. Would she die? Would everything be in vain? Her thoughts trailed off as she blacked out.

 

**-x-**

 

Light filtered through her closed eyes and she had to move a hand to cover her eyelids. Sakura’s body had never felt so sore and she had never felt so _drained_. There was a faint throbbing in her head, meaning that she had recently had a terrible headache. She couldn’t remember a thing. What had happened? Was she attacked? What about the Juubi? Was it still alive? She tried hard to remember what had happened before she blacked out and suddenly Obito’s face came to her mind. Obito. The time travel jutsu. Everything came rushing back to her and she forced her eyes open.

Sakura looked around for a couple seconds and found that she was a middle sized room. The walls were white and there was a small desk opposite to the bed. It was her room: her _old_ room, in her parents’ house. Despite her nausea, she forced her body to stand up and walked slowly to the mirror in the back of the door to take a look at herself. Round face, wide forehead, long pink hair, small stature, pre-teen body, weak muscles. Somehow she hadn’t gone back in time with her adult body and, instead, had taken the place of her previous self.

She had successfully gone back to a time before everything went to hell. To a time where she could set things right and prevent the upcoming extinction of humanity. She was the only one that knew how to stop it.

However, this body of hers was _fucking_ _weak_.

**PD: Ah…. There goes the first chapter. Please tell me what you think about it.**


	2. Back from Hell

** CHAPTER 2 **

Sakura threw herself on her bed heavily and looked up at the ceiling. Her body was 12 years old and it was as weak as it had always been. However, she could feel that her chakra had stayed the same. Either her forehead seal had carried her original chakra with her o her soul had managed to transfer her vital energy back in time with her. Nonetheless, she was grateful for that; her body might be weak, but her chakra reserves were jonin level and her chakra control was sannin level. Sadly, the chakra she had been storing into her seal had been almost completely drained by the time travel, so she decided to immediately start storing it once again. She did a couple hand seals, deciding that she would store 90% percent of her chakra in her seal every day. It didn’t matter if she was left with little chakra, since she was supposed to be a genin and probably wouldn’t be sent on any difficult mission for a while.

Sakura looked out the window and noticed that it was already past dusk. She wondered what exact date it was and walked to look out the window. Konoha was exactly as she remembered it from before the utter destruction that came with Pain’s – or Nagato’s - attack. From her bedroom window she could clearly see the numerous dwellings all around her, the morning sun shining brightly on the metallic roofs. Sakura was immersed in her nostalgic thoughts until she heard a knock on her door. She turned around and felt joy build in her chest; her parents were still alive. Despite her immense nervousness, Sakura managed to speak up.

“Come in.”

“Hey.” Mebuki smiled as she peeked through the door, but soon her smile was replaced by a frown. “Are you all right? You seem awfully pale.”

“I… didn’t sleep well last night.” Sakura inwardly smiled at her mother’s worry. “My stomach hurt for hours and I couldn’t sleep. I’m beat.”

“Would you like to stay in bed for a couple more hours? You can skip a day of class if you aren’t feeling well.” Mebuki offered, knowing that her daughter would never miss out on an academy day because of laziness.

“That’s… actually a good idea. I’ll sleep for a couple more hours and head to the academy later.” Sakura smiled.

“All right. Sleep tight.” Mebuki smiled softly at Sakura.

“Thanks.” The pink haired girl smiled back.

When her mother left, Sakura plopped herself on top of her bed and took a deep breath. She could still feel the exhaustion and numbness from the constant stress in her previous timeline. To help herself relax, she took a couple deep breaths and, only second later, she was already in deep slumber.

When Sakura woke up once again it was already 10 am, which meant that she had slept for almost 4 hours. When she sat down, she stretched her arms and her back, deciding that she was feeling much better. She was most definitely not at her hundred percent, but she was feeling good enough to go to the Academy. Sakura quickly stood up and grabbed a towel out of her closet, storming into the bathroom a second later. As she showered, she felt the excruciating need to stay under the hot water for a long time. It had been over a year since she had last _showered_ , so she granted herself 5 extra minutes of bliss under the stream. When she was done washing her hair and cleaning up, she dried herself and walked to her bedroom. She opened her drawers trying to find something to wear that was fit for battle, but found nothing and sighed. In the end, she put on her usual red quipao and tied her pink her in a high ponytail.

When she walked down to the kitchen, the smell of scrambled eggs washed over her. It had been so long since she had eaten properly. She ran to the counter and gulped down the delicious food in a matter of seconds. She relished on the soft texture of the eggs and then ate some grapes that her mother had left for her. She had to admit that it was nice to be taken care of once again. It was nice to have _food_ that she could eat every day. She would never take food, shelter and peace for granted. Not ever again.

After brushing her teeth, Sakura left her house and walked towards the center of the village. The streets were filled with familiar faces and she couldn’t help but feel like she was in some sort of dream. She looked at the different shops, remembering the times that she spent there with her friends. She would always keep Ino company while she bought clothes… it had been _horribly_ long hours for her at the time, but now she would give anything to spend time together with her friend again. She passed by Ichiraku’s and remembered how, in the end, she had accepted that if she wanted to eat out with Naruto, most of the time it would have to be ramen. Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips at the memory of how _noisy_ he had used to be when he eating noodles.

Sakura stopped in front of a crossroad, one path leading towards the academy and the other towards the Hokage tower. She had initially decided to head straight to the Hokage and tell him everything straight away. But now that she thought about it, if she did that she probably wouldn’t get a day off in a long time. Maybe she could go to the academy for today and go to the Hokage afterwards. She missed everyone too much and would be damned if she had to wait weeks to see them again.

So, Sakura turned left and soon reached the familiar white building with wooden roof-tiles. She smiled at the swing where she would sometimes hang out after class. It was such a nostalgic view, especially since the building had been destroyed when Pain attacked. She walked into the building and headed towards her class. The clock on the hallway read 10:45, which meant that the next lesson was about to begin. Sakura stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath in and walked through it.

When she stepped into the classroom she was met with a familiar sight. Everyone was scattered around in groups and talking about light subjects, sometimes a loud laugh or slight bickering could be heard. After roaming around for a bit, Sakura’s eyes landed on a lone blond boy on one side of the room; Naruto. In this timeline, he was still alive and still innocent to the harsh reality of the shinobi way of life. Sakura smiled and her face softened. He hadn’t had any friends before graduation and had been casted aside by the whole village up to that point. He didn’t deserve any of that and, therefore, Sakura decided that she would be friends with him from now on. She walked up to him and leaned to look at him over his shoulder.

"Hey, Naruto." She almost chuckled when she saw the dumbstruck expression on his face; he was clearly surprised. "Can I sit with you?"

"Really? You meant that?" His eyebrows shot up in expectation.

"Well, yeah." She silently chuckled at his disbelief. It was not unexpected though, she been cruel to him back at this time. When he nodded, she sat down next to him and put her backpack next to her chair.

"You missed out on the first couple terms." Naruto tried to make a small talk sheepishly, a faint blush covering her cheeks. Sakura had forgotten that he used to have a crush on her.

"I felt a little ill last night, but I'm all good now." Sakura said and suddenly the question she had asked herself this morning popped in her head once again. "Hey, Naruto. What date is it today?"

"Huh?" Naruto scratched the back of his head in thought. "The 3rd I think."

"Err.. what month?" Sakura asked with slight embarrassment.

"Haaa? Well August, of course." He frowned at her question.

"Oh right!" Sakura managed a small smile and then her face became blank. She still had almost six months until graduation and almost a year until the chuunin exams.

Suddenly a hand was slammed on the table in front of her and Sakura looked up to see her other blond friend. Or ex-friend. "Ino."

"Well, forehead. It seems that you have finally given up and admitted my obvious superiority. I mean, look at your hair. You are even copying my hairstyle now!"

"Ehh..." Sakura sweatdropped. Did they use to bicker about such ridiculous topics back then? She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what. She wanted to so bad to be on good terms with her once again.

"You just sit tight there next to that loser and I'll go back to Sasuke-kun. You better forget about him, Forehead, he will never pay any attention to the likes of you." She laughed and flipped her hair as she turned to walk away.

"Hey, who's the loser, huh?!" Naruto complained and shook an arm in objection.

However, Sakura mind was focused on only one thing. Sasuke. **_Sasuke_**. He was sitting on the other end of the classroom and surrounded by fangirls. His boyish face still held a slight annoyed expression – which was to be expected, being surrounded by at least ten screeching girls - but he certainly looked so much more innocent than he would years later. His eyes shone with a different light and he certainly wasn’t threatening to kill the girls if they didn’t step away. She had been so glad when she spotted Naruto that she had completely forgotten about Sasuke. He was there, sitting in the classroom, alive and he still hadn’t deserted Konoha. Sakura felt a knot build in her throat and wondered if she would break down in there. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a presence behind a door at the front of the room.

"All right. Sit down everyone." Iruka called as he entered the classroom. Everyone made their way towards their seats and looked to the front.

Sakura feelings managed to get back in line, but she was not capable of fully listening to the lesson. Sasuke was here now, but he would leave. Would he? Could she prevent that? Would it all change if the Akatsuki was brought down?

If she went to the Hokage and told him that she had travelled back in time, he would certainly have Inoichi check her up. If she allowed him into her head, he would definitely find out everything about Sasuke. All of his crimes, his personal grudge against Konoha and his support to the Akatsuki and Tobi. In that case, Inoichi would not only have to inform the Hokage, but the council as well, as was the norm. If the _council_ found out about Sasuke's future actions… what would they do? Would they put him behind bars at the age of twelve? Would they exile him? Execute him? They would absolutely do something with him to prevent his crimes, as they had done with his clan. Especially since the future Sasuke had a particular grudge towards them, specifically.

What was Sakura supposed to do? Was she going to put Sasuke's life in danger to save everybody else's? Was she going to keep quiet and risk everyone's future, even though Sasuke could leave to Sound anyways? Of course her mind knew what the logical answer was; the world is bigger than Uchiha Sasuke. However, her feelings were strongly against discarding him, even if it was for a greater good.

Sakura’s head was filled with her dilemma for the rest of the day. She quickly made the decision of not raising suspicions for now and, therefore, lowered her abilities to what she assumed had been her academy level. She answered questions as she would have when still a Gennin and she threw shurikens as she would have back then.

On lunch break, Sakura told Naruto – who had been tagging along with her for the whole day - that she needed some alone time and walked away with a small wave. She found a quiet spot and sat down under a tree by herself. She opened up her lunch and started eating it slowly, her mind for once clear of all those thoughts. She had just finished her food when she heard footsteps and looked up. Sasuke was right there, walking down that exact path with a nonchalant attitude. Sakura observed him as he neared her and felt her thoughts go ballistic once again. He was just so very young at this time! How was she supposed to disregard him and simply finish her self-imposed mission? She couldn’t do that... much less with Sasuke; he was the love of her life. Err.. had been. Or would be. Whatever it was, the crush Sakura had felt towards him had bloomed into true love. She couldn’t simply abandon his younger self when he was still so innocent. But what could she do?

Broken out of her thoughts, Sakura realized that she had been staring at Sasuke with a frown on her face and he was looking straight back at her. He had raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior as he passed by her spot, but wordlessly kept on walking past her. Sakura would’ve jumped in joy at twelve at the fact that he had looked her way, but she was eighteen years old now… mentally that is. She knew that it had been absolutely nothing more than an ephemeral curiosity.

Even though looking into each other’s eyes did nothing to him, Sakura had felt her chest build with warmth. Looking into his eyes had reminded her of her memories of him and brought back all the feelings that came with them. She also remembered how much she had worked to help him out and try to redeem him. She felt as though she was not only given the chance to save everyone’s future… but save Sasuke as well.

Suddenly the bell rang loudly and she nearly dropped her lunchbox on the grass beneath her. She quickly put it away and walked back to her classroom at a fast pace; she had always been back inside by the time the bell rang. The next class was history and Sakura tried to pay attention and participate a bit, since she always had showed special interest in this lesson.

When school was finally over, Sakura noticed that she had a couple hours to kill. She walked down to a training ground to have some alone time. In her previous life, she had always felt some sort of comfort when being alone in the wilderness. Sakura sat down and supported her back on a tree trunk and looked up to the leaves, as her whole day came back to her. The weight of what she had to do - her immense responsibility - came crashing all at once. She had a chance. A chance to do things right, not only for the whole world, but for herself too. She didn’t want to regret anything that she did, any choices that she made. She was not going to save everyone and leave Sasuke to rot on his future choices regarding Itachi and Orochimaru. If she did, she would never forgive herself.

Sakura decided then; she would do her best to do both things. She would help Sasuke _and_ would find Obito on her own. If, later on, she noticed that she was not capable of that, she would go to the Hokage and ask for help. However, she would do everything in her power to accomplish by herself, even if it meant deserting the village. To do that though, she would need to push her body to its limits and get as strong as possible in the short time that she had at hand.

She decided to test out how strong - or weak - her body had become and stood up from her sitting position. Sakura gathered a small amount chakra on a finger and touched the ground in front of her, releasing it at once. The soil cracked and made a circular fissure of around two meters in diameter. She decided that this particular ability was just the same as it had been before travelling back in time and smiled. She then took out a kunai and made a shallow cut on her open palm. Her other hand was immediately on top of her cut and she channeled chakra to heal it. It immediately closed up and left no scar. Her kunai then made a deep cut on her thigh, almost to the bone, and she had to suppress a scream at the unexpected pain. Her endurance to pain was as low as it had been back when she was twelve. Her other hand moved to her thigh and she healed it in a couple seconds. Her smooth skin was as good as new, and she sighed in relief. Both her medical abilities and her chakra enhanced attacks were the same as they used to.

She needed to work on her physical abilities though, so she immediately planned a schedule. She would her overall strength, putting special emphasis on the muscles on her legs, arms and abdomen, together with her stamina. If she did go down, it would most definitely not be because of fatigue and physical weakness.

Sakura decided to use the small amount of chakra that was not being gathered into her seal to improve the rate at which her muscles and lungs became more vigorous. She estimated that if she did that, she would gain her previous strength in about two years. It was a long time, but when the time came for the chuunin exams to be held, she would be as good as when she was fifteen.

It would be enough to prevent Sasuke from getting Orochimaru’s cursed seal. It _had_ to be.

 

**-x-**

 

Sakura had been living her old life two months now, and had rapidly gotten used to it. She had to admit though, she almost felt like a real kid again. Living in a peaceful village, the threat of war was as nonexistent as it could be for a shinobi village. Every day she sat with Naruto in class and she could’ve sworn that his crush on her had slightly diminished. He would no longer blush around her and he was much more carefree and whimsical. Sometimes they ate lunch together and he had told her how glad he was that she had opened up to him. Sakura was happy, she really was. He really was a great friend, even though he had forgotten how much of a clown had been at this age – which wasn’t really a bad thing, since he made her laugh pretty often. Sometimes his jokes would be borderline pervert and, when he stepped over the line, she would smack him in the back of the head. He sometimes asked for her to hang out with him after class, but she had to turn him down every time, since she had become a really busy person.

Sakura would wake up every day at 5 am and train for two hours and head home. After taking a short shower, she ate breakfast and healed her throbbing muscles a bit, so that she could keep up with the Academy no problem. After class, she went back to training for around 5 or 6 hours – which was as late as her mother had allowed her out of the house. Every day when she got home, she was completely worn out, her weak body practically trembling due to exertion. If it weren’t for her healing chakra, she would not be able to get up the next day and do her routine all over again.

One day, when class was over, Sakura saw Ino standing on the other side of the room to her, eyeing her with quizzical look in her eyes. Of course she would be confused, since Sakura had completely dropped the Sasuke-fangirling stuff weeks ago. She hadn’t asked him out, followed him around, or even talked to him at all. She had minded her own business and had spoken with her other classmates. Sometime, though, when she knew nobody was watching, she glanced at Sasuke secretly, cherishing the fact that he was still home.

“Forehead.” Ino said as she came to a stop in front of her. Naruto quickly waved her good-bye and left, knowing that Ino would probably give him an earful if he stayed.

“Pig.” Sakura smirked at her blond friend.

“What’s up with you?” she frowned and bent her body to level her eyes with Sakura’s, who was still sitting on her desk.

“What do you mean?”

“Sasuke! Why haven’t you paid him any attention during class?” Ino put her hands on her hips defiantly. “Don’t tell me that you’ve been meeting with him secretly or something.”

“Not at all. I just decided that I won’t be fangirling over him anymore.” Sakura shrugged nonchalantly.

“What?!” Ino dropped her hands to her sides in surprise. “You’ve liked him since first year!”

“I know. I just got tired of it, you know? Besides, he doesn’t seem to like it at all.”

“Haaa. So you are giving up, huh?” Ino smirked. “Just wait and see, Forehead. I will be the one to win his heart over.”

“So.” Sakura said after smiling honestly. “Wanna be friends again? You know, since we are not rivals on this matter anymore.”

Ino widened her eyes at her words. The both of them had been friends for years, scratch that, they had been best friends. They had only become rivals when they realized that they could not both have Sasuke, but somehow had still kept caring about each other. Ino smiled genuinely at Sakura and stretched her hand out in front of her.

“I believe we can work that out.”

“Good.” Sakura said standing up and shaking her friends arm firmly. Ino entered her fashionista mode and her trained eyes observed her skeptically.

“Forehead, have you been working out? Your arms seem to have developed some muscle.”

“Just a bit.” Sakura answered with a shrug. “I have for a long time you know? Maybe you just haven’t paid enough attention.”

“I only have eyes for Sasuke-kun. Why would I pay attention to you?” she said and pointed her finger at Sakura, who chuckled.

“Hey, Ino. I have a spare hour, wanna go shopping with me? I think I need new clothes.” Sakura said, knowing that if _Ino_ of all people had noticed her developing muscles, soon the Academy teachers would notice as well.

“Ha! Of course you want me to; everyone knows that I’m the best when it comes to that.” She smirked. “Come on, and hour is _so_ very little time.”

Sakura and Ino walked around the commercial street for a whole hour, looking around for new clothes for Sakura. Even though Ino complained almost nonstop, Sakura decided that she would buy clothes that were fit for battle and that, at the same time, would hide her arms and legs. That should be enough to keep her development hidden until she graduated and got assigned to Team 7. After that, she wouldn’t mind too much if someone noticed that she looked physically stronger.

After waving Ino goodbye and promising to meet again another day, Sakura went home and changed her clothes. She put on black leggings that went to her mid-calves, a pink tank top and black arm warmers. She tied her weapon pouch to her right hip and left to train once again. When she arrived to the training grounds, she ran two laps to warm up and then started doing push-ups. She was at 200 and counting, when she felt a presence enter the training ground. She knew exactly who it was and had to use all of her self-control to not drop on the ground due to the utter surprise. It was Sasuke. She turned her head to the side a squinted her eyes to watch him though the scorching sun, the sweat on her face dripping down on her nose. He seemed startled to see her there. Sakura had been using that training ground often since she got there two months ago and assumed that Sasuke sometimes used it too, because his eyebrows were raised in surprise. He was panting slightly too, which meant that he probably had been running for a while.

Sakura smiled slightly at him and nodded her head in greeting, and then went back to her work-out. As soon as she did, Sasuke kept on running and left the clearing. Sakura sighed, wondering if she should’ve greeted with more intensity or if shouldn’t have greeted him at all. Sasuke was a very difficult person to engage with, so she really had no idea how to approach him.

Hours later, when she was done with her workout and her body was screaming for rest, she slowly made her way home. As she passed a different clearing, she came across Sasuke once again, but he didn’t seem to notice her presence. He couldn’t blame him though; she had gotten used to hide her chakra signature in the war, and only few experienced ninja could notice her. Sasuke was hitting a tree with shurikens and kunais at a fast rate, his face with a deep scowl. His body twisted and turned in the air as he did, dodging imaginary attacks as he destroyed the tree. Sakura stood there and watched him for a long time. It was no wonder he had been considered a genius and that he was the best of the class. The boy wasn’t even gennin yet and was already chuunin level. Suddenly, Sasuke’s kunai missed the tree and he lost his footing at the same time. He fell down to the ground heavily and then rolled around, kneeling on the ground. He slammed his closed fist on the earth, a cloud of dust flying surrounding him. He cursed loudly and frustration was clear in his voice. Sasuke had always pressured himself too much, he had always expected too much of himself. He didn’t allow himself any mistakes and his hate for his brother – the main reason for everything he did – only made it so much worse. Sakura’s body moved before she even questioned her actions.

“Are you all right?” Sakura said as she walked out of her hiding spot behind a tree. Sasuke jerked up in clear surprise and then scowled at her.

“Why are you here?” he hissed, his hands still fisting the dust on the ground. “Were you watching me?”

“I was on my way home and came across this clearing. I observed you for a couple seconds, because I thought you were good.” Sakura said, trying to ease the tension in the air. Sasuke scoffed at her, as if saying ‘of course I am’ and looked away from her. Sakura tried to prevent her eye from twitching and tried a different approach. “You should start moving your arms to throw weapons before you come face to face with your target. If you don’t and move too fast, you might miss or lose you footing.”

Sasuke slowly turned his head to look at Sakura, his eyes observing her thoroughly. He was quiet for a couple seconds, probably taking into consideration what she had said to him. He then stood up nonchalantly, and faced away from her. Sakura was about to leave in surrender and curse his damned attitude, when his head moved. Sasuke looked back at her over his shoulder, nodded once and then picked his weapons up. She was speechless and her eyes were wide as she watched him as he started practicing once again.

Sakura decided that it would be kind of weird if she stayed any longer, so she turned around and left. However, as her ninja sandals hit the soft leaf-covered ground, she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. Maybe Sasuke wasn’t all that bad now and was just lonely. Maybe she would be moody and distrusting like that too if she had been though what he had and came home every day to an empty house. Maybe it was that he had been overly mature for his age or that her fangirling and Naruto’s bickering had put him off. Maybe, just maybe, things could be different for him this time around.

 

**A/N: Thank you for you lovely reviews. I’m glad that you liked the story! Also, the person who came into the cave on the first chapter was _Kabuto_ , not Orochimaru. Just wanted to point that out. If you think that any of the characters is too OOC please let me know!**

**Please leave a review, weather it is praising or criticism!**

 


	3. Working Together

** CHAPTER 3 **

"Oi, Naruto, are you ever going to eat something other than instant ramen for lunch?" Sakura questioned with a sigh as she rested her weight on her stretched arms, feeling the soft grass under her open palms.

"What else could I eat? There's nowhere in here where I can buy a meal."

"Why don’t you cook something simple sometimes? It can’t be good for you to eat like that every day."

"Ehh... I don’t know how to. All I can prepare myself is a sandwich or cereals." Naruto answered sheepishly and then threw Sakura a glance. "Maybe you could teach me a couple dishes."

"Maybe, but I must say that I'm not such a good cook. I’m just plain regular."

"Or. I could find a girl who can bring me lunch, y'know? Like Sasuke does. That bastard gets free lunch everyday..." Naruto trailed off. "And then _she_ and I could go on dates. And she could stay over at my place. And then we could-"

"As much as I like to know your plans for the future, I'm really not interested in knowing how you plan to spend the night with your dates."

"Haaaa. Don’t act innocent, Sakura-chan." Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I’m sure you are as much a pervert as I am."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Sakura said with finality and took a sip out of her water bottle. If Naruto knew how much she actually enjoyed reading Icha-Icha Paradise, he would never leave her alone. Damn Kakashi had been a terrible influence on that matter. "Anyways, you could start by trying to talk to other girls than me."

"But they're so mean." Naruto frowned.

"That’s only because you always approach Sasuke’s fangirls! You should try someone different. Like..."

"Like........?" Naruto slightly leaned forward in expectation.

"Like... I don’t know. Hinata maybe?"

"As in Hyuuga Hinata? She never talks to me!"

"I think she’s just too shy. You should give it a try; she seems like a good person." Sakura shrugged.

Suddenly the bell rang, meaning that their lunch break was over. Sakura plopped her last dango in her mouth and stood up. She dusted her clothes, making sure she was presentable for class and picked her lunch box up.

"Naru-" Sakura stopped when she noticed that Naruto was walking ahead of her, glass everywhere on his orange pants. He was a mess, really, like a small kid.

"Come on, Sakura-chan." He called over his shoulder and Sakura sighed before following him into the building. When they entered the classroom, Suzume was already walking to the front and both students hurried to their seats.

"Today we'll be doing a different activity. It'll serve to test your overall abilities as shinobi. You will have to work in pairs and try to retrieve a specific colored rubber ball from an opponent duo. At the same time, you have to keep your own ball safe. Both balls are required to pass this test and you pass once you bring them with you into the classroom." She explained and put a glass vase filled with small papers on the table in front of her. "Please stand in line and pick a paper, but don’t open it up until I say so."

Everyone did as she said and then sat back down. When everyone was already sitting, she instructed them to unfold the sheets. Sakura did and noticed that there were two different things written down. First there was the number was 3 and then there was the word 'blue'.

"The first thing in there is the number of your team and the second is the color of the ball you have to get. Now please find your partner and come over here so I can write down how it's settled."

Sakura started walking around and asking who number three was. After half a minute, she felt someone behind her and turned around to see Sasuke.

"Number 3?" He simply asked and Sakura nodded. He wordlessly turned around and walked towards the teacher’s desk.

As Sakura followed him, she thought that it was not that bad at all to be paired with him now. The first month or two since she came back it would’ve probably been terribly uncomfortable and he would’ve been scowling the whole time. However, the last couple months she had been training nonstop before and after class and she had encountered Sasuke at least two dozen times. At first neither had said a word and silently greeted each other with a nod. Once, Sasuke had come across Sakura when she was doing a handstand and had pointed out that she needed to work on the muscles of her forearms. Sakura had already known that, but had thanked him for his advice anyway. After that event, a couple more advices had been exchanged between the two, but nothing else. She felt that now, even though he was not at all _closer_ to her, he sort of respected her as a shinobi and didn’t dislike her anymore.

When their names and their target were written down, they were handed a small green ball. Sasuke immediately took it from Suzume and put it in his pocket.

"All right. Every team will leave this class according to their assigned number and the next one will have to wait thirty seconds to take off. Remember that you are not allowed to leave the Academy or gravely injure any of your classmates."

When Sasuke and Sakura's turn came, they dashed out of the classroom and headed outside. In reality, Sakura simply followed Sasuke's lead, knowing that he assumed that she would. As soon as they were out of hearing range and well hidden behind a tall bush, Sakura held his wrist to stop him from running further.

"Wait."

"What is it?" He asked as he turned around to look at her, his voice neutral.

"A ninja’s greatest skill is deception, right?" Sakura smirked and crouched next to the bush. She took a handful of leaves and some clay from under their feet. She then pressed it all together until she formed a small greenish ball. She stood up once again, holding the crafted ball up between her thumb and index. Sasuke met her gaze with a knowing glance as she henged the ball to look like the original one. "We'll hide the real ball and come back for it when we have the blue one."

"Where do you suggest we hide it?"

Sakura looked around for a bit and then jerked her head towards the left and Sasuke followed her eyes. Not far from there was a small fountain. Sakura looked at him for confirmation and received a nod. It was a smart place to hide the ball; it would be difficult for anyone else to see it there and, at the same time, easy and quick for the both of them to retrieve. Sasuke looked around to make sure they weren’t being watched. Then he was gone in an instant and put the green rubber ball down and into the water. He took his empty hand out and walked to Sakura.

"Done." He said and Sakura handed him the fake ball, which he put into his pocket.

"All right. Let’s go find out target ball."

Sasuke and Sakura looked around until they found Kiba and Choji. Sasuke signaled that Sakura was to engage Choji, because of their similar raw power. Sakura inwardly chuckled at that; if only he _knew_ what raw strength she actually possessed. She agreed nonetheless and they quietly approached the oblivious couple. Sasuke’s footsteps could barely be heard, while Sakura’s experience had completely erased her own. He seemed to notice this because he threw a curios glance at her feet. When they were getting closer, they separated a bit so that each was on an opposite side of the pair. Sakura touched her nose and pointed at Kiba. Sasuke immediately understood that Kiba would smell them soon, so he gave the signal to engage right away. Sasuke jumped at Kiba and aimed a low roundhouse kick to swipe him off his feet. He dodged just in time, but Sasuke quickly took a hold of his wrist and turned him around, immobilizing him.

Sakura had sprinted at Choji as soon as she was given the signal and chopped him on a particular part of his thigh. He yelped in surprise and slightly lost his footing. Sakura took the chance and pounded her open palm on his chest, which knocked the air out of his lungs. She jumped at him and put him in a firm lock, but had to use her whole body to keep him in place. It was not an easy task to do, seeing that he has much bigger than her and she was not allowed to hurt him. Sakura was using her only free hand to check his weapons pouch and pockets when Sasuke spoke.

"Red one." He said dropping the ball and Sakura released the heavy boy at once. She jumped up and climbed to the roof, pushing her weight form wall to wall, closely followed by Sasuke. It was the best course of action, since Choji’s movements were slower when it came to jumping upwards. Being a heavy weight could give him an upper hand in a close range fight, but it hindered him if it meant making a short sprint at top speed. Kiba would be at a disadvantage if he caught up to them on his own, so he stayed behind and cursed. When they were far enough, Sasuke and Sakura stopped and hid next to a wall.

"You can keep up with me." Sasuke stated. He was obviously not expecting her to. Well, it wasn’t a surprise to Sakura. She had been training her body to its limits every day for the past five months. With the help of her chakra. She had improved greatly. Sakura didn’t know if she should feel good or bad at that statement, which in Sasuke’s case seemed awfully a lot like a praise. Had she really been that bad back at the academy that even Sasuke had pointed out her good performance at such basic stuff?

"Yeah." She said, not knowing how to handle his words differently. "Let’s find someone else."

Sasuke wordlessly agreed and he looked down to the ground level. He finally pointed at Hinata and Shikamaru.

"Sasuke, you go for Hinata." Sakura said, knowing that it would be suspicious if she defeated her in taijutsu. "We need to be as fast as we can, because her taijutsu is pretty fast."

"I know." Sasuke agreed. "You need to finish your fight with Shikamaru as soon as possible too; he’s really smart and might trick you into something if given enough time to think."

Sakura nodded once at him and swiftly jumped down the roof, noiselessly landing on the floor beneath her. Sasuke was next to her in an instant and they approached their oblivious targets from behind some bushes. Sasuke, crouching next to her, raised his hand to catch her attention and then flung it forward. Both immediately dashed at the other pair.

Shikamaru tried to jump back and away from Sakura, but was immediately followed by the pinkette. Sakura threw a couple punches and kicks at him, which were blocked, but soon landed an upper cut that threw him back a couple feet. Sakura took a hold if his upper arm, twisting it around and forcing him on her knees. He said a couple courses and mumbled something about never expecting Sakura to be so swift.

On the other hand, Hinata had turned around just in time to block all of Sasuke’s attacks, as was expected. It was a disadvantage that they weren’t allowed to hurt each other, because that meant that the fight would mainly involve taijutsu and the Hyuugas were pretty good at it. Sasuke raised his leg and aimed a kick down at her shoulder, but she stepped aside and caught Sasuke’s ankle. She pulled him closer in a tight grasp and immediately pulled the fake ball out of his pocket, where it had been clearly visible to the naked eye. Sasuke smirked at how easily she had fallen for their ploy and swirled around, breaking free of Hinata’s grasp. Sasuke caught her arm and leg, putting her into a tight lock.

"Shikamaru doesn’t have it." Sakura said and turned her back to Sasuke again as she blocked the other opponent’s path to Hinata.

Sasuke quickly searched Hinata for the ball, finding it in his pocket right away. He smirked; it was the blue ball. _Bingo._ He punched her on his lower back to render her immobile for a couple more seconds and then took off.

"Got it!" He announced over his shoulder, but Sakura already running right next to him.

They ran across the yard, with Hinata and Shikamaru not too far behind them. They came across the fountain where they had hidden the ball in and Sakura jumped right inside, pushing her hand into the water. She grabbed the ball as she ran and followed Sasuke into the building. They entered the classroom in the blink of an eye and closed the door behind them. Suzume was sitting behind a desk and looked up at the newcomers.

"Done already?" She quirked an eyebrow. Sasuke and Sakura walked to her and handed the balls over. "It took you only ten minutes. Well done. You can go home now."

She took a couple notes and then glared at Sakura’s feet. It was only at that moment that Sakura realized that she was drenched wet to her mid-thigh and that she had made a mess on the floor.

"You better clean that up."

"I’m sorry, I will." Sakura answered politely and walked out of the classroom. She was about to head to the closet where the cleaning supplies were kept, but stopped when she noticed that Sasuke had also walked out of the classroom with her.

"Huh?"

"You’ll make a bigger mess if you walk around. Wait." He said and walked away. Two minutes later he was back and had two mops and a bucket. "Here."

Sakura was speechless as she received the mop. He had brought two mops. Two. Sakura had to suppress the urge to tear up when she saw him start cleaning up the mess that she had made. Of course this mess was what had allowed them to successfully pass the test with flying colors, but she had never ever imagined that _he_ would give her a hand on this. It was such a small gesture, which she would’ve expected of anyone else, but not him. Sasuke had become such a ruthless, selfish and cold criminal in her past life, that she had forgotten that Sasuke had once been a boy too. A moody, introverted and kind of revenge-ridden boy, but one nonetheless.

"Don’t just stand there." Sasuke complained.

"Sorry!" Sakura almost yelped and hurried towards where he stood and they mopped the wet floor all the way to the entrance of the building.

"Thanks." Sakura said when they finished and he gave her a nod. Sakura had felt that, for once, she and Sasuke had worked together just fine. They had been in tune and their abilities had complemented in the right way. She knew that normally she shouldn’t have said anything and that she shouldn’t stretch her luck. But she felt the unnerving need to voice her thoughts. "It was good working with you."

Sasuke was quiet for a couple moments as he squeezed the water off the mop and put it against the wall. He didn’t meet her gaze as he turned around to walk away. However, before he took off home he spoke in a small voice.

"It was."

Once again a smile formed on Sakura’s face as she watched Sasuke walk away. It remained there as she put the cleaning supplies away and as she walked home. Only when the changed out of the damp clothes and went out for her ritual training did she manage to put on a straight face.

**A/N: Ok, here goes another chapter. It was a short one, but I wanted to make one that portrayed some interactions between Sakura and Sasuke before graduation.**

**Remember! Reviews are love!**


	4. Team Mates

**A/N: I had made a mistake in the previous chapter and re-wrote it. Thanks for all of you who pointed it out. I had completely forgotten about that fact!**

** CHAPTER 4 **

Sakura was feeling on edge as she sat in the academy classroom. She was worried. Did she have reason to be? Maybe. Today was the day that gennin teams would finally be announced. She had been very careful to get the same marks as she had in her previous life. It had been hard though, since she didn’t really remember how exactly her results had been. It had been almost 7 years ago. She had a general idea and had tried to stick to it. But what if she hadn’t? What if her marks had changed slightly and it resulted with her getting assigned to a different team? How would she help Sasuke when faced with Orochimaru? Sasuke had been the best rookie that year and he still was, so on that side things were going to stay the same.

However, she had become good friends with Naruto. It had slightly changed how he acted during class. He was still clueless on most subjects and was still as thickheaded as always, but he had shown slightly more interest in some topics during class since. It didn’t help that Sakura had never paid him any attention on her first life. Had he also changed a bit back then? Hadn’t he? She had realized her mistake a couple weeks before graduation and dread had filled her. Her friendship clearly meant a lot to him now and she hadn’t had the heart to walk away from him now. She couldn’t just stop talking to him after six months of a good friendship. For all she knew, that fact alone could change things.

If team 7 wasn’t formed this time around, she honestly had no idea what course of action to take. Her whole plan had been based on the assumption that it would be. Also, she had come to care for Kakashi as a father or an older brother and, if she never met him, it would be borderline devastating for her.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Huh?" Sakura’s thoughts were interrupted by her friend’s voice.

"Teams are about to be assigned." He pointed out. "I thought you would want to hear that out."

"Yeah. Thanks." She managed a strained smile and then looked to the front of the class where Iruka started reading out the members of the different teams. Sakura was really nervous, fidgeting with her thumbs on her shirt and trying to keep her calm as much as she could.

"Team 7" Iruka’s voice sounded clear in the room. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura released a small sigh that he knew she had been holding.

"Great!" Naruto cheered next to her. "Sadly we're stuck with Sasuke bastard."

On the background there were all sorts of complaints coming from Sasuke’s fangirls. Sakura looked around with raised eyebrows, noticing the glares that her female classmates had been throwing her way. Her eyes moved around for a bit and she noticed that Sasuke didn’t seem bothered. He hadn’t seemed bothered by his assigned team last time, if she recalled correctly. It was much of a surprise though. After their good teamwork a couple weeks ago, Sasuke had seemed a little more open to her whenever they met in the training grounds. He actually looked into her eyes when he greeted her and had been giving her more advice. In return, she had also been a little friendlier to him, always being careful not to step over the invisible limit that he would have. Sakura was grateful. Even though she didn’t need most of his advice - she knew exactly what she needed to work on to strengthen her body - she was glad that there were some minimal polite interactions between them.

Slowly, the members of the other team left the classroom and the three of them were left there to wait. They waited for a long time and finally ran out of everyday subjects to talk about. Naruto started bickering about how their jonin sensei dared be late and how he was going to give him a piece of his mind. How he now was a ninja as well and deserved respect. Sasuke, clearly irked by this, mentioned that he probably had a good reason to be, since he was a jonin.

"Sakura-chan. I have an idea." Naruto smiled mischievously and got up to get a board eraser. He pulled a chair to the door and stood up on it. He slightly opened the door and supported the eraser on top of it. He got off and ran back to his seat with a giggle. "That way he will learn to respect us."

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered. "Do you really think that a jonin rang shinobi will fall for such a thing? It’s a child’s game."

"Who are you calling an idiot, bastard?!" Naruto scowled at his raven haired teammate.

Sakura smiled as she heard the familiar nickname be used. She had to suppress the wave of memories that came with it, since she needed to focus. Yes, focus. On the door. She was so not going to miss the moment Kakashi walks into that prank. Suddenly and to her and Naruto’s delight, the door opened and a masked man entered the room, the eraser falling right on top of his head. As he waved the white dust away from his face, Naruto laughed loudly and Sakura snickered, not fully managing to keep her laughter in check. Sasuke was staring at their sensei with a slight twitch on his eye, clearly taken aback by the fact that he had fallen for the prank.

"My first though on the three of you is... you are all a bunch of idiots." He said with a monotone voice. "Meet me at the rooftop."

He disappeared right afterwards and Sasuke turned a cold stare at Naruto.

"Well done, idiot. Now our sensei thinks low of us."

"It was hilarious!" Naruto laughed again as he stood up after the Uchiha. "Even Sakura-chan thought it was funny."

"Yeah, it kinda was." Sakura answered truthfully and followed her two teammates.

They got to the rooftop two minutes later and found their sensei sitting under the shadow of a wall. The three of them sat in front of him and waited for their sensei to speak.

"Well, I guess you could start by telling me something about yourselves." He said, but only received blank stares in return. "You know, like your name, hobbies, likes, dislikes and dreams."

"Why don’t you start, sensei?" Sakura pointed out.

"I guess I could." Kakashi put his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My hobbies... I have some of them. My likes... I have a few... I don’t particularly dislike anything. My dreams for the future... you don’t need to know that."

"You only told us your name!" Naruto complained.

"Now you." Kakashi said waving his hand towards Naruto.

"All right! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and my hobbies are doing pranks and eating ramen. I like ramen and spending time with Sakura-chan. I dislike bastards and mean people." He threw a glance at Sasuke, who blatantly ignored him. "And my dream for the future is to become the greatest Hokage ever! That way people will learn to respect me!"

"Oooookay." Kakashi trailed off and then looked at Sakura, who was between Naruto and Sasuke. "Now you."

"My name is Haruno Sakura." She started, knowing exactly what she was going to say. "My hobbies are studying medical ninjutsu and spending time with my friends. I like training to improve as a kunoichi and reading about politics and strategy. I dislike it when people betray their closed ones and I also dislike war. My dream for the future is keeping the village save and making my closed ones happy."

"Well, that was deep." Kakashi said with a monotone voice and turned to Sasuke. "You’re the last."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t particularly like anything and I dislike a lot of things. My dream for the future is not a dream because I will make it true. I will restore my clan and... kill a certain someone."

"You want children already? You do know that in order to do that you have to... you know?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows and received a smack on the back of the head by Sakura.

"Naruto." She called.

"All right, all right. Sorry." He scratched the back of his head.

"I have bad news for ya." Kakashi said, interrupting the exchange and successfully getting his students attention. "Around 30% of all new genin will go back to the academy."

"What?!" Naruto demanded. "But we already graduated!"

"Graduation is only a pre-selection. The real test will be conducted by me tomorrow."

"No one informed us of this." Sasuke slightly frowned.

"Well, now you know. Tomorrow we will meet at 8 sharp at training ground 3. You better not eat breakfast; you’ll throw up of you do." Kakashi waved and puffed out of there. Silence ensued afterwards and Sakura felt Sasuke slightly shift, clearly wanting to leave.

"Guys." She called. "Want to go training together? You know... since we're now a team and all."

"We might stop being one tomorrow, Sakura." Sasuke reminded her.

"Maybe. But what if the test requires us to work together? Maybe we have to face off against another team... or a stronger enemy. We could get know each others fighting style or something."

"I’m in, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called and she smiled at him. Then she moved her gaze towards Sasuke expectantly.

"Sorry, but I rather work on my own." Sasuke waved them good-bye and left. Sakura watched him with a slight frown until Naruto spoke up.

"Don’t mind that bastard, Sakura-chan! We'll be better off without his bitter scowl ruining our day." Naruto grinned and took a hold of her arm, dragging her over to a training ground.

Sakura and Naruto trained together for the first time in this timeline, starting with their general shinobi skills - taijutsu and weaponry. They stayed out until it was around 8 pm. and Naruto’s belly started growling in complaint, wince he couldn’t go over 5 hours without proper food. He asked Sakura if she wanted to go to Ichiraku’s with him, but she refused and stayed back to train some more.

Sakura started with what had become her regular agenda; two laps around the forest, 400 squints, pushups and sit-ups, and finally a couple quick sprints around the clearing. After almost two hours of pushing her muscles to their limit, Sakura started training her chakra control.

When she finally decided to head home at 11 pm, she walked across Sasuke’s training spot, as usual. It shouldn’t have, but it took her by surprise to see that he was there training all by himself. He didn’t really give his teammates a second thought, not that he really anyone else a second thought. He had rather trained by himself than together with them. Sakura noticed that his body language slightly changed when she neared his clearing, but he didn’t give her any sign of recognition, as he had been doing these past weeks. It struck her more than it should have and Sakura wondered if she would be able to make a difference in whatever future he chose for himself. She felt so shaken by the fact that whatever progress that had been made these part months had disappeared, that she even started doubting her own ability to save the future. Sakura came home feeling hopeless and with a huge lump in her throat. She tossed and turned in her bed for a long time and finally fell asleep almost as two in the morning.

The next morning, Sakura ate breakfast and came to the training ground at the appointed time. She got there after Sasuke did and greeted him with a small 'good morning', receiving only a nod in response. After ten minutes of silence, Naruto arrived with his usual cheeriness and Sakura was kind of glad. Things had felt a bit weird with Sasuke that morning and she didn’t exactly know what had happened. Naruto’s presence definitely made things easier and she quickly got absorbed into the conversation.

Hours later and when even Naruto had ran out of conversation topics, Kakashi finally arrived and greeted them with his usual wave.

"You're late, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled and pointed an accusing finger at him, clearly upset at having to wait for hours.

"You see, I was on my way here, but came across a black cat. So I just had to take the longest route here to avoid-"

"Liar!" Naruto yelled again and Sakura could see Sasuke’s eyebrow twitch at the terrible excuse their sensei had made up. It was clear that both boys were kind of upset with their sensei and that he, at the same time, didn’t really give a shit. However, seeing Kakashi alive and reliving his bad habits made Sakura feel bubbly inside. She tried at first, but in the end couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped her lips and in the end became a laugh. She could feel that the slight tension in the air was gone the moment she did. She even saw Naruto laugh a bit and even saw Sasuke’s lip slightly twitch upwards.

"Okay, so today we'll begin with our test." He said and held a hand up with two bells. "Whoever gets a bell will be able to truly graduate and will gets lunch, will the losers will go back to the academy and get tied to a post as he watched the rest eat."

"But sensei, there's only two bells." Sakura asked even though she already knew the answer. "Does that mean that at least one of us will be sent back no matter what?"

"Exactly."

"That doesn’t sound right. Aren’t we supposed to be a team?" Sakura tried to pull the conversation into that direction to give her teammates some hints.

"Well, sometimes you have to choose the mission above your teammates." Kakashi said and then added with finality. "Enough chat now. The test will start when I say go."

Naruto made a move on Kakashi and he was pushed down to the ground by their sensei. "I said 'when I say go'. I want the three of you to come at me with the will to kill, or you will never be able to get a bell. Got it? I’m setting this alarm clock at noon, that’s when your time will be up. Okay? Ready. Go!"

Kakashi had barely finished his words when Sakura jumped up into the tree foliage. She felt Sasuke hiding not far from her - obviously waiting for an opening - and almost face palmed when she saw Naruto still down in the clearing. She masked her own chakra and watched as Naruto started attacking Kakashi with his Shadow clones in a completely obvious way. Sakura almost chuckled when Kakashi caught Naruto in an easy booby trap, which left him hanging head down from a tree.

As soon as Naruto was caught, Sasuke threw a barrage of shurikens and kunai at Kakashi, who made a substitution jutsu, so the weapons got embedded into a log. Sasuke, seeing that his opponent was hiding and now knew his position, turned around and fled into the trees. Kakashi followed him, and Sakura jumped down from her hiding spot. She cut Naruto’s rope in one swift motion and held his ankle just in time to avoid having him crash down head first. Naruto got on his feet and was about to say something loudly, but Sakura covered his mouth with her hand.

"Baka! Do you want to give us away?" She hissed lowly.

"Sorry." Naruto said into her hand lowly and she removed it. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"No problem. Naruto, I need you to follow me and promise that you won’t laugh no matter what you find." She said and Naruto raised an eyebrow at her strange request. "Just promise for real."

"Err.. ok I promise."

"Good! Now come on!" Sakura said and sprinted through the forest, jumping from tree to tree and with Naruto on her heels.

Soon she felt Sasuke’s chakra signature and headed his way. When she landed on the ground she had to suppress the urge to laugh at him; he had been buried on the ground so deep that only his head was poking out of it. She looked back at Naruto who was about to mock Sasuke and threw him a glare that had him shutting up. He rolled his eyes and mumbled something about Sakura being too serious. Sakura turned her attention back to the Uchiha in front of her and noticed that he was looking at her with a slight blush on his cheeks, clearly feeling embarrassed by him situation. Sakura kneeled down next to him and leveled her eyes with his.

"Sasuke. I’m going to get you out of here." Sakura said and he nodded at her. She thought about it for a while and gathered as little chakra a possible around her fists and slammed them on the floor on either side of the raved haired boy. She ground cracked around him, allowing him to get out of it just before the hole cramped in on itself. Sakura was glad that she had used the minimum amount of chakra, because otherwise she would’ve hurt Sasuke.

"Wow! Cool, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke eyed her curiously, his raised eyebrows almost disappearing behind his bangs.

"Ahhh, well. I’ve been training a lot so I picked up a thing or two." She smiled sheepishly and then put on a straight face. "Now listen to me. We have to work as a team. We will never be able to defeat Kakashi if we go on our own."

"But Sakura-chan, there’s only two bells." Naruto said.

"Don’t worry. I'll give the bell to you if I get one." Sakura said and Sasuke, who was right next to her, snorted. He clearly didn’t believe her.

"No way! I'm not letting you fail like that! Much less because of this bastard!" Naruto complained.

"Don’t worry, I'm not interested in letting you drag me down, dobe." Sasuke said standing up. "I'm all right with working with Sakura, but not with _you_. So I will work on my own."

"Stop! The only way for us to pass-"

"Ha! You think _I_ want to work together with _you_? You should know that I would rather work on my own too."

“Good.”

“Good.”

"Guys!" Sakura was going to say something else, but she had been left alone in the forest in the blink of an eye. Her eye twitched at her teammate’s antics and then she sighed heavily, running a hand over her tied up hair. In the end she decided to find Naruto first and talk him into working together. As she headed towards where he had left to, she sensed Kakashi nearing her. She acted oblivious until he was close enough to be sensed by and experienced genin and then turned around to face him.

"I know you are there, Kakashi-sensei." She said firmly and getting into a defensive stance.

"I have to say I surprised. I didn’t expect you to feel my presence." He said and then she immediately launched at him with a medium level attack, which he obviously dodged. Sakura inwardly sighed, knowing that she couldn’t reveal her real strength and that there was no use in trying to get a bell on her own. He raised a lone eyebrow at her slightly higher ability and then made a couple hand signs.

Sakura allowed herself to be pulled into the genjutsu and stared at the place where a bloody person stood. It surprised her that the person was not Sasuke like last time, but Naruto instead. Apparently she had done well when hiding her feelings for the Uchiha and Kakashi had obviously known about her friendship with Naruto. The genjutsu was a low level one and she was on a complete different level, but seeing him there filled her with dread. It reminded her of the day that she had helplessly held Naruto’s corpse in her hands. All of his _cold_ blood and his dull blue eyes.

“S-Sakura-chan.” The fake Naruto spoke and she dispelled the jutsu without a second thought.

Sakura had to crouch down for a moment and breathe in deeply a couple of time to clear her head. She could feel her hands trembling a bit and cold sweat running down her neck. When she was finally regaining her senses, she heard a loud ring, which meant that their time to get the bells was over.

Sakura got to the rendezvous point and was met with a familiar sight. Naruto was tied on a post with a frown on his face and Sasuke was not far from him sitting on the ground. Sakura approached quickly and then turned to Kakashi, who was standing in front of them with his arms crossed.

“Naruto was tied to the post because he tried to steal his lunch.” Kakashi answered Sakura’s silent question. “And, now that you are all here I have to say the following. You’ve all… _failed._ ”

“Noooo!” Naruto wailed and Sasuke scowled. Sakura tried to look upset, but wasn’t sure if she actually managed to.

“Yes. The goal of this exercise was to get the three of you to work as a team.” Kakashi explained. “There is a reason why shinobi work as a team; you have to always work together no matter what. If you want to accomplish things on your own at the expense of your teammate, you probably will die out there in the field on your first mission. Even rouge nin and criminals work in teams. There are enemies stronger than me that you will face in the future and you will need to work together to defeat them. For example.” Kakashi appeared behind Sakura, who tensed but remained still at the feeling of Kakashi’s kunai on the throat.  “Sasuke, kill Naruto or Sakura dies.”

Sasuke looked at Sakura in the eye and then glanced back at the ground, understanding that his course of action had been wrong and that he should’ve listened to her. Naruto was quiet too and looked at Sakura with an apologetic glance. Kakashi disappeared in a poof and went back to his previous spot.

“Do you understand? Now, I will go away for a while now and allow the two of you to eat lunch. When I come back, you will all try to pass the test again. However, Naruto is being punished, so if you give him food, you will all definitely fail.” He waved at them and left.

Sakura opened her lunch box and her nostrils immediately filled with the smell of the delicious food in front of her. She heard Naruto’s stomach grumble next to her and she moved to give him some food, but Sasuke’s hand caught her wrist.

“Stop. Do you want us to fail?” Sasuke said looking into her eyes. “I know that you take his profession seriously like I do, so don’t throw it all away.”

“Sasuke, if Naruto doesn’t get any food he won’t have any energy to fight at all.”

“Well, if he doesn’t pass it’s not our fault. You and I will pass together - I know you’re stronger than you seem - and find another teammate to fill in for him.” Sasuke’s words towards her would have made her feel glad in a different situation, but the knowledge that he was _willing_ to ditch Naruto made her feel disappointed and angry.

“No! Sasuke, didn’t you just hear Kakashi out? We need to look after each other to survive out there. We will have to trust our lives to our teammates!” Sakura complained and locked eyes with the raven haired boy in front of her. She firmly held his gaze for a couple seconds, while he seemed to contemplate her words. “If we can’t risk going back to the academy for one another, how are we supposed to risk our lives?”

“Whatever. _You_ give him some of your lunch. He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

Sakura frowned and gave Naruto some of her lunch, who accepted it with a smile. However, Sakura could tell that Naruto was angry at Sasuke, since he kept looking at him darkly.

Everything afterwards happened the way she remembered; Kakashi came in, asked them why they had disobeyed, they had answered that they were looking after eachother, Kakashi had passed them and told them his motto. ‘Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.’

When he left, Sakura cut the ropes tying Naruto to the post and he stood up. He stretched his body and massaged the sore spots left by the tight rope. Sakura could feel that things were not as peaceful as last time and it was all due to Sasuke’s reluctance to feeding Naruto. Why had Sasuke reacted that way? What had changed in his mind?

"Hey, I totally feel like training now. You guys want to train together this time?" Sakura asked with a smile, trying to ease the tension in the air.

"Ok." Sasuke said as he stood up. Clearly the previous lesson had taught him about teamwork and he had opened up to the idea.

"Ha! There's no way I'm training with that bastard!" Naruto growled and glared at Sasuke. "Besides, that little amount of food is barely a fraction of what I need. I will go to Ichuraku's now. Sakura are you coming with me?"

Sakura gulped at the lack of 'chan'. Naruto was really pissed at Sasuke and no wonder. She looked at Naruto and then back at Sasuke, noting that both were watching her expectantly. Naruto was Sakura’s best friend, but she couldn’t really let this chance to get Sasuke open up pass just like that.

"Naruto, I really want to train. If you want, we can go grab something to eat tomorrow."

"Tss... whatever. I'll see you in the morning." Naruto waved back at her and left.

Sakura looked at his retreating back until he disappeared and felt a little worried. Sasuke and Naruto had not been friends in the beginning, but they had definitely not acted like this; it had always been more of a rivalry between them. Somehow, Sakura becoming friends with Naruto - and him growing out of his crush for her - and her improved abilities had changed everything. Now, Naruto didn’t feel like competing against Sasuke and Sasuke didn’t ignore her as much as he had used to.

Sakura wondered how this slight change in the way they related to one another would change their team dynamics.

**A/N: Well, that was it. Tell me what you think about it!**

**I want to thank all of you who have been reviewing and following my story!**

**I also am grateful for any constructive criticism and input. I love your support!!! Thank you so much!**


	5. Sparring

** CHAPTER 5 **

In her previous life, Sakura had been all over Sasuke. She had constantly harassed him and followed him around asking for dates – she must’ve been annoying, as he had used to bluntly state. In her previous life, Sakura had not been friends with Naruto and he had had a crush on her. She had constantly pushed him away and had been truly rude to him. It made sense that Naruto had considered Sasuke a rival at that time and had tried to challenge him on everything. Of course, she was friends with Naruto this time around and he didn’t have a crush on her, and therefore he probably didn’t feel the need to prove himself in front of Sasuke. That explained his different approach to him and to her. However, Sasuke had never been _such_ a jerk last time, if she remembered correctly. Sasuke had always been a bit cold and distant with them, but he had never acted so disrespectful and cruel towards Naruto. Sakura had _no_ idea what had happened this time that had pushed Sasuke to act like this. Maybe they had a problem that she didn’t know of? Maybe something had happened to Sasuke in particular?

“Sakura.” Sasuke’s strong voice suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned around to face him, noticing that she had been staring at the road which Naruto had taken for at least a minute.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve asked you twice already. Do you have something particular in mind for training?” he repeated patiently.

“Oh. That. Well, I have a couple ideas. Maybe we could spar for a while to see what our abilities are.” Sakura said trailing off.

“I agree, but I have a question first. What was that thing you did back at in the forest when you cracked the ground?”

“Oh. You see, I really like reading about great ninja figures and stuff… and I came across an interesting ability. It’s based on chakra control, in which you gather it around a certain part of your body and it allows you to increase your strength or speed greatly.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked down at his hand. He closed his eyes, trying to do what she had said, and then slammed his closed fist on the ground. He groaned, partly from slight pain and partly because his strength hadn’t seemed to increase at all. The slight frown on his face made him look boyish and Sakura had to suppress the urge to compare him with the old Sasuke in her head.

“It’s not easy, Sasuke.” Sakura said. “You have to train for a long time to get better on chakra control. If you want, I can teach you a couple exercises to get better at it.” She said tentatively and he nodded at her. “Great. Look, the first step it to be able to manipulate your chakra so that it becomes sticky. You can try channeling it to your fingertips, since it’s the easiest part to do so, and try to get leaves to stick to them.”

Sasuke kneeled down and picked up a tree leave. He closed his eyes, concentrating his chakra where she had told him, and then placed the leave on his thumb. He opened his eyes and slowly turned his hand around, intently observing it as he did so. The green foliage stuck to his finger a second longer than usual and then fell to the ground.

“I see.” He nodded once. “I’ll keep on practicing, but later. Now, let’s spar.”

Sakura widened her eyes slightly at his eagerness to face off against her. He had never shown any true interest in her abilities before, but it _did_ make sense, since she had been much weaker than him. She looked into his eyes and noticed that there was the glint that she always saw on people who loved a challenge. And then it hit her. Now she was _stronger_ than Naruto, so Sasuke had turned his challenging nature towards her instead. He had never given her a second thought last time, and now that attitude was directed towards Naruto. Maybe he had been rude to him because he was not a girl and Sasuke had been raised in a conservative environment, so he would’ve been expected to be _a bit_ of a gentleman.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke had not waited for her answer and had retreated back a couple meters. He gotten into a fighting stance and was waiting for her to do the same. Sakura immediately crouched down and raised her fists in front of her chest. Sasuke launched at her and aimed a kick at her side, which she blocked and in return tried to elbow him on the chest. He jumped back to avoid it, but she went right after him. She hook-punched him on the jaw, but he crouched at the last second and did a low roundhouse kick to her feet. She did a backwards handspring and landed not too far. She saw that he was going at her again, and tried to punch him again, this time an uppercut, but he caught her wrist and tried to lock her down. However, Sakura quickly twisted her arm around in the proper way out of the lock and caught his wrist instead. She smirked at the surprised look on his face and then swirled him around. He kicked her forearm, forcing her to loosen her hold, and then aimed a punch at her gut. Sakura felt his fist connect with her lower stomach, but she tightly tensed its muscles to sustain the hit and grabbed his arm once again. She quickly stepped behind him and tried to put her other arm around his neck. Sasuke immediately rolled away from her, using his full body weight, and forcing her to release his arm and to crouch down. Like this, they exchanged taijutsu blows for over an hour, only getting hit a couple times each. Sasuke finally stood up on and locked eyes with her.

“Not bad.” He said with a smirk and Sakura mirrored his expression.

He pulled his hand into his weapon holster and threw a barricade of shuriken at her. Sakura took her kunai out and deflected the attacks aimed to her torso, as she sidestepped the attacks to her legs. Sasuke came at her once again, kunai in hand, and aimed at her shoulder. Their kunais clashed and they pushed with all their might, deciding that their physical strength was on par. They aimed at each other over and over again, but every time the attack would be deflected or dodged. Sakura, tired of the long and tedious exchange, jumped back and then threw her kunai back at him. He widened his eyes when he noticed that it had an explosive tag attached to it so he jumped out of the way. Even though the smoke of the explosion was thick, Sasuke managed to see from the edge of his eye that Sakura was throwing more weapons his way. He quickly made a couple hand signs and her weapons hit a log. She looked around, knowing that he was hiding on top of a tree to her right, praising him for his ability at hiding. He was clearly much better than every other genin and she could clearly assess that now that she was a higher level.

“Katon: Gōkakyū no jutsu!”

Sakura widened her eyes and, in the blink of an eye, jumped out of the way of the huge fire ball that came her way. She glared at the burnt ground that she had just been standing on and then back at where Sasuke had landed on the ground not far from her.

“You could’ve really hurt me with that. You should be glad that I’m not slow.” She stated. She was certain Sasuke _knew_ that any genin would’ve probably been hit by that technique and was bothered by the fact that he had used it anyways.

“Well, you were the one who raised the level by using and explosive tag. Besides, I knew you would dodge.” He shrugged. Sakura said nothing and quickly made some hand signs, deciding to use a justsu that she had been perfecting the last couple month or two.

“Suiton: Teppōdama!”

Sasuke immediately jumped out of the way, dodging the continuous balls of water that had been formed out of a river close to the east. He twisted and turned around in the air, trying to dodge the small condensed water balls with practiced ease. Sakura felt like testing him further and increased the rate at which the balls were launched. Sasuke’s body moved faster too, but it was clear that he was at his speed limit, since he barely doges and had a strained look on his face. Suddenly, his feet landed on a puddle of water and, as he tried to move again, he slipped. He fell down, luckily avoiding the blow, but falling on his side on the mud. Sasuke immediately stood up and faced Sakura once again, who had stopped throwing water balls at him. He had raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was just standing there, when she started laughing her ass off.

“PPffff.. hahahaha.. so-sorry…. Hahahahahaha!” Sakura had to hold her belly; she couldn’t believe that _Sasuke_ , the strong and ruthless criminal had actually _slipped_ on a puddle of mud while he dodged an attack. Her laughing abruptly stopped when she was harshly pushed off her feet and onto the ground. Sasuke’s left hand was firmly holding her right wrist next to her head, his right forearm was pushing down on her left hand and his right arm pressing a kunai to her throat. She gasped in surprise, not at his attack, but at his proximity. His head had less than a palm away from her own and his breath was tickling on her nose. His dark eyes were serious as they locked with hers and she was sure that she should be able to count his eyelashes from that distance.

“You can’t put your guard down, Sakura.” Sasuke said and, for some reason, his voice seemed much deeper. It reminded Sakura of the Sasuke of previous life, the one that she had fallen in love with and the one that she had always felt so attracted to. Sasuke’s legs were straddling her hips and Sakura presumed that if she bent her hips upwards a bit, she would feel his body against hers. She felt a shiver go down her spine and warmth spread all over her body. _Oh, hell no!_

“Eh… right. You can get off me now.” Sakura shifted under his hold, averting her eyes and refusing to look into his obsidian orbs for any longer. Sasuke wordlessly got to a standing position and offered her a hand, which she took and allowed him to pull her up. He let go of her hand and frowned down at his muddy clothes. “You should wash those soon or they will get ruined.”

“Hn.” Sasuke nodded at her once and then turned to pick his weapons up, which were all over the training ground. Sakura did the same with her own weapons and put her away into her pouch. When they were both finished, Sasuke turned to look at her once again. “You staying?”

“Yeah, for a while longer.” Sakura answered and he nodded once, waved at her and turned to leave. “See you tomorrow.”

Sakura wouldn’t know if Sasuke had reacted to her farewell, because she had immediately turned away from him. She had suppressed it for a couple minutes, but now she was uncontrollably blushing. She had never _ever_ been that close to Sasuke in her life. And only in their first day as a team she had already felt his goddamned breath on her face. She was barely thirteen, and Sasuke was still twelve. They were frigging _kids_ for God’s sake. She had to get a grip.

Sakura finally managed to put her Icha-Icha natured thoughts away and started working on building her chakra reserves. She stayed out for another hour or two, until the sky turned red and then finally decided to leave the training grounds. Before dawn settled in, she walked towards Naruto’s apartment and knocked on the door a couple times. Not long after, her blond friend opened up and peeked out.

“Sakura-chan!” he smiled and further opened the door to let her in. “I’m sorry for the mess.”

“Naruto, your house always looks the same. I honestly never expect it to be any cleaner.” Sakura sighed and then wrinkled her nose at the sight of a plate of decaying food. “But you really should clean up.”

“Ehh… I might do that. But later; now I’m going out to Ichiraku’s.” Naruto said picking up his only pair of shoes and putting them on. “Come on, Sakura-chan.”

Sakura wordlessly followed her friend with a smile and closed the door to his apartment with a smile. As they walked down the road, Sakura noticed that the blonde was more quiet than usual. He probably was still put off by the exchange with Sasuke at noon.

“Naruto, don’t be angry.” She sighed. “Sasuke seems like the kind of person that has difficulty accepting others.”

“Did he send you here to apologize? If he did, tell him that he should come himself.” Naruto frowned and crossed his hands in front of him.

“He didn’t. I just thought I should tell you so that we can improve our teamwork.”

“He didn’t? So the bastard won’t even come out of his way to apologize, huh?”

“Naruto. I know that what he said was kind of rough, but don’t hold on to this. Give him a second chance, all right?” Sakura hopefully looked into her friends blue eyes.

“When you ask me like that I can’t refuse. It’s not fair, Sakura-chan.” He sighed and then jumped slightly, realizing that they had gotten to Ichiraku’s already. Naruto immediately stormed in with enthusiasm. “Jii-chan! The usual!”

Sakura walked to sit down next to him and ordered her own dinner. Sakura looked at Naruto and noticed that there was an uncontrollable grin on his young face. It always amazed her how he always managed to feel happy and forget all his troubles with the simplest things. She knew that he sometimes hurt – he was human after all – but his emotional resilience had always impressed her. If someone on her team had treated her so badly on her first day and at _twelve_ , she would’ve probably felt destroyed for the whole day. Somehow, Naruto had simply gotten angry at him and then simply brushed it off. The thought that maybe he was used to that kind of treatment broke her heart. Thankfully, in a couple years everyone would realize their mistake and Naruto would become a hero. And then die. Sakura flinched a bit and tightened her hands into fists. _He would become a hero and_ not _die if she had a say._

“Sakura-chan?” Naruto called with his mouth full of food and she realized that he was already eating his second serving. “Not hungry?”

“Oh, I just got distracted for a second.” Sakura waved her hand dismissively and then started eating.

“What? Already thinking about what’s underneath somebody’s pants?”

“Naruto!” Sakura slightly bumped his arm with her own, but laughed nonetheless.

She always had to laugh at his obscene jokes; he had such a wide imagination on that matter. It was no wonder that he had created multiple versions of his Sexy no Jutsu. Sakura had always thought that it had been Jiraiya’s influence, but now saw that Naruto was a pervert of his own.

Sakura sighed; her team was filled with perverts. First of all, Naruto. Secondly, Kakashi. Thirdly, Sakura herself. Yes, she was a bit of a pervert; she had grown to like Icha-Icha and adult natured literature and subjects, but not many people knew of that. Actually, only Naruto and Ino. Sakura wondered for a moment if Sasuke was secretly a pervert too, because if he was, their team would definitely be the most fucked up team ever. The kyuubi jinchuuriki, the last Uchiha avenger, the time travelling girl and the masked creep. All of them perverts; Sakura slightly chuckled at the thought.

The rest of the evening went by as usual, with the both of them talking about light subjects and laughing their asses off. When they finished their dinner, they parted ways and Sakura went home. She greeted her parents, who were in the kitchen, and sat with them for ten or twenty minutes to tell them about her day and listen to their own. Ever since she had come back, she had grown to value her parents much more; she had already lost them once and deeply regretted not paying them any attention.

When Sakura got up to her room, she realized that it was almost 10 pm. She still had an hour or two to kill before she went to bed, so she quietly crouched down in front of her closed and did a couple hand signs. In a puff, a wooden floor tile became apparently loose and she lifted it, revealing a small rectangular hole underneath. It was just big enough to fit an excessively thick notebook, which she took out and laid it on top of her small desk. She took it out of the plastic bag where she had put it in so that the dust would not damage the pages. This was an important document; she had been writing down everything relevant from her past life down there. The chronological order of the events and its approximate of exact dates. The different connections between them and how they affected the international relations between countries. How the different criminal had acted on her past life and what their background and abilities had been. It was such an enormous amount of intelligence, that she written it all in a tiny _tiny_ calligraphy, afraid that the 600 pages would not be enough. She didn’t want to have two different books, because it would make it more difficult to look after. Sakura had already used half the pages in it and suspected that she was not halfway through all of her memories yet. Sakura sighed as she stretched the fingers on her hands, then picked up the point pen up and inserted in the ink bottle next to her.

_All right. Now with Nagato._

Sakura woke up the next day with and looked at the alarm clock. She jerked up, realizing that she had forgotten the set it last night. She almost fallen asleep on top of her desk and had sleepily put her notes under the floor tile. She had performed the jutsu and grown herself on her bed, immediately falling asleep. Now, not only had she missed her morning training, but also was late to meet her team. She ran to the bathroom, showered and got dressed in less than ten minutes. She quickly headed to the bridge, where she was meant to meet up with them, as she ate a slice of bread. When she got there she sighed in relief; Kakashi was still not there. She inwardly sighed at the tense atmosphere surrounding her other two teammates.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled and walked towards her. "You're late!"

"Sorry. I overslept." Sakura apologized.

"I had to stand here awkwardly with this bastard for over an hour." He quietly mumbled, so that only she could hear.

"Sasuke." Sakura greeted and the raven haired boy looked her way, nodding once.

“This is the first time you’ve ever been late to anything.” Naruto pointed out. “What happened?”

“Not much, I just forgot to set up my alarm clock.”

“Ehhh. Really, Sakura-chan. What were you up to last night?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Sakura suddenly felt self-conscious, seeing that Sasuke was listening to their conversation.

“Baka!” Sakura slapped the blonde in the back of the head and he laughed mischievously.

“Kakashi is late _again_.” Naruto complained. Sakura smiled, knowing that he would be late almost every time and they sat down.

The three of them waited for another fifteen minutes and Sasuke remained characteristically quiet, until their sensei arrived. Naruto complained about his lack of punctuality and he gave a lame excuse, as usual. He then announced that they would have their first mission, which made Naruto and Sasuke look up expectantly. Their eagerness disappeared as soon as they found out that they were supposed to help out on a local farm.

Team 7 had to help with the rehabilitation of an old granary. They had to carry heavy logs and beams for the whole morning and use them to reconstruct the roof. Naruto said that he was claiming the right to work with Sakura, since he had been friends with her before. In the end, Sasuke was put   on top of the walls, receiving the wooden parts that Naruto and Sakura were pushing up for him. Sakura and Naruto engaged on a light conversation as they worked together, teasing each other and recalling funny events that they had lived together. Naruto acted as if Sasuke wasn’t there, but Sakura threw a glance his way every now and then. She noticed that there was a strange expression on his face, but it was so expertly masked that she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

They had a quick lunch break together, in which Naruto talked most of the time and only to Sakura. Sasuke didn’t seem to want to participate, so she didn’t try to involve him either - he bad always been more of an introverted person. After they finished eating their sandwiches, they went back to work once again.

“Wow, Sakura-chan. Your arms don’t look as strong as they are. You’ve been working out?” Naruto pulled her out of her thoughts. Even Naruto had been observant enough to see that she was the only one who seemed unfazed by the fact the they’d been lifting heavy weights for almost three hours.

“I have. You should too, you know?” she answered as she lifted on side of a particularly big beam up her head as Naruto lifted the other one.

“I’m not weak!” Naruto furrowed his brows and then moved to the center of the beam, trying to hold its whole weight by himself. “In fact, I could do this by myself if I wanted to.”

“Wait Naruto, don’t-” Sakura’s warning was in vain, as he forcefully pulled the beam out of her grasp. He used too much strength and wasn’t capable of keeping the heavy wooden piece in control. It fell down on top of a wooden column that still wasn’t firmly joined to the beams and it made a domino effect, which destroyed almost everything they had done.

"Naruto!" Sakura wailed. "Look at what you've done!"

"I’m so sorry." Naruto looked down.

"I would’ve expected you to be able to at least successfully lift a beam." Sasuke said after landing on the ground next to them. He was more than upset, seeing that they would have to redo almost all of the work they had done so far.

"What’s that supposed to mean!" Naruto scowled.

"Exactly what you heard, dobe." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke!" Sakura tried to stop their bickering once again.

"Sasuke, you know think you’re so great, huh?" Naruto scoffed. "I bet you think that strength is the only thing that defines a ninja. I guess you're too thickheaded to even grasp the real meaning of what Kakashi taught us on our first day. Maybe your hateful self isn’t capable of understanding such a concept."

"I did grasp it." Sasuke voice lowered and his eyes became cold; Naruto’s comment had stuck a nerve on the avenger. "But having an incapable member will definitely not help us survive out there."

"Bastard, I'll show you inability!" Naruto growled and jumped at Sasuke. However, he was stopped by Sakura, who tightly held him in place by his shirt. "Sakura, let go! I will show this bastard how bad a shinobi I really am!"

Naruto glared at Sasuke and tightened his fists. Sakura feared that this would end up in and ugly fight - not a spar.

"Guys, we need to finish this job." Sakura said through gritted teeth as she felt Naruto squirm in her hold. "Don't act like a child."

"What about Sasuke, huh? This is not the first annoying remark he has made!"

"I just stated the truth." Sasuke said coolly, but Sakura knew him well enough and could tell that he was really pissed. It reminded her of the day when they had fought at the roof top.

"Stop!" Sakura raised her voice and tightened her hold when Naruto tried to jump at Sasuke once again. "Listen, both of you. We will finish our first mission successfully, so the two of you better start behaving like a team."

Both males glared at each other nastily, and it was nothing like the challenging looks they had thrown at each other in her previous life. They finally turned around and silently got back to work. The next four hours were mostly spent in awkward silence and they only talked when strictly necessary. Obviously, the only person who the boys interacted with was Sakura, since they had been blatantly ignoring each other.

When they finally finished their mission, Kakashi appeared with a new Icha-Icha book and said that they were dismissed and that they would meet at the training grounds. When he disappeared in a poof, the awkwardness came back on full force.

"Sakura-chan, I'm going to Ichiraku's. Wanna come?"

Sakura looked at Naruto and then at Sasuke, who were both staring at her. She couldn’t turn Naruto down again, but she was afraid that whatever frail understanding she had come to build with Sasuke would be destroyed. 

"I'll go, but please not Ichiraku's again." She said and the blonde beamed. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up in a second."

Naruto nodded and left at once. She turned to glance at the other boy, who was nonchalantly standing in front of her. She walked two steps until the was closer to him and sighed.

"Sasuke."

"Hn."

"Please try to get along with Naruto." She softly said, but he simply looked away. Well, there goes that approach. "Want to meet up and train later on?"

He turned his head to lock eyes with her again and she swore she saw his lips twitch lightly, as if he wanted to smile. "At yesterday’s spot."

Sakura smiled, waved him goodbye and hurried after Naruto. As she approached his figure, she felt the emotional strain of the whole day on her shoulders. Honestly, if every day was going to be like this, she was going to lose her mind.

**A/N: There it is! I want to thank all of you who have reviewed.**

**Please tell me what you think of the fight scene between Sasuke and Sakura and of Sasuke’s and Naruto’s interactions. If you have any ideas or questions please let me know!**


	6. Departure

** CHAPTER 6 **

"So, forehead. You sure Naruto doesn’t like you anymore?"

"Oh, pretty sure. He makes jokes in front of me that a kid like him would never do in front of his crush." Sakura waved the idea off. "He's completely overgrown it. We're just friends."

"Sakura. You don’t like Naruto, do you? I mean you stopped liking Sasuke-kun at the same time that your friendship with Naruto started."

"What? No! Naruto is really sweet - err sometimes - and a nice guy, but there’s no way I could see him as more than a friend." Sakura shook her head and played with the remaining food on her plate for a bit.

"It’s a shame that you don’t like Sasuke-kun anymore. You could’ve had so many opportunities with him, being in the same team and all."

"It actually a pain in the ass."

"Sasuke-kun!?" Ino widened her eyes and spoke with a full mouth.

"Not Sasuke, not Naruto, but the dynamics between them. They... don’t get along."

"Well, no wonder. Sasuke is the best shinobi from our class and he is so smart. On the other hand, Naruto is an idiot."

"Whatever it is they don’t like about each other, they should stop acting like children and put it behind themselves when while working. Our missions this past month and a half have been a pain in the ass, since they can’t seem to work as a team and keep on fighting about the smallest things. It’s _really_ irritating." Sakura sighed.

"Damn it forehead, you sound like an older woman." Ino said and Sakura laughed at the irony. "Take things more easily, will you?"

"Well, whatever. I have to go back now; we have a team training session once again."

"Bye. Tell Sasuke I said hi!" Ino smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows and Sakura rolled her eyes as she left the restaurant.

When she got to the training ground, Sakura found that Sasuke was waiting on his own. He was sitting on the ground with his back leaning on a tree, his legs were bent and his forearms were resting on his knees. Sakura sat down next to him wordlessly but in a pleasant silence.

"I'm getting tired of doing D-ranked missions." Sakura said after a while.

"Shinobi shouldn’t be doing that stuff.” Sasuke scoffed. “It’s ridiculous to have skilled people do things that don’t even take their abilities into account."

"Well... at least we get to train with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura shrugged. She then felt Naruto’s presence not far from them. Not long after, he appeared from behind a couple trees and waved at her.

"Sakura-chan!" he smiled and plopped himself down next to her.

"Hey, how was lunch?"

"Good! I missed you though." He threw a glare at Sasuke and then turned back to look at Sakura.

"I know.” Sakura smiled nervously and eyes her both teammates, who were now pointedly ignoring each other. “I had an appointment with Ino and wouldn’t ditch her again."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. So, do you have any idea what we're going to train on today?" He asked and Sakura shook her head in denial.

They sat there for a good fifteen more minutes – in a silence that was no longer comfortable - until Kakashi arrived. He poofed in front of them and waved in greeting, not even making up an excuse for being as little as fifteen minutes late. The older man looked at the three teens for a while and then sighed.

"So, today we're going to have a special kind of training; teamwork." The interested looks on his male students’ faces immediately were replaced by irritation. "Sakura is doing great, but the two of you have not made any progress even after my multiple remarks. So, the aim of this exercise will be to strengthen Naruto's and Sasuke's teamwork. Sakura and I will have to protect a bell, like the ones you're already familiar with, and the two of you will have to take it from us. You better not believe that you’ll be able to do it individually, because you _won’t_. We will do this as long as we have to until you get the bell from us. We will stay here as long as we have to until the two of you work together. Now, you wait here for three minutes and then start looking for us."

The boys agreed without any enthusiasm and Sakura stood up, following Kakashi into the woods. The walked a couple steps in search for a good spot to use as a sort of fortress.

"What place do you think is suitable?" Kakashi glanced at the pinkette from the edge of his eye. He watched as she looked around with calculating eyes, until she pointed south.

"We should head to the rocky formation south of here. The direction of the wind would hide out scent and the sun light would be directed from the back of the rock to the opening place. It would slightly blind them and allow us to see more clearly. We could also hide the bell inside the small caverns or find a hiding spot for ourselves. Finally, one of us can climb up and get a panoramic view on the surrounding forest."

"Good, let’s do that. I had already read your profile from the academy and knew you had always been outstanding when analyzing situation and understanding complex dynamics."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled.

"I have also noticed that you have gotten better in the other areas as well, including those that you had been awful at."

"Oh, that." Sakura said with disinterest, trying to hide her nervousness as much as possible; she had done her best to show her improvement in a believable slow enough manner. That had meant only showing a small portion of her true strength, which made it difficult for her to control. She just hoped that it had been enough. "I have been training during the afternoon and night and early in the morning."

"Oh. That seems like a lot. Is there a specific reason why?" Kakashi said and she suddenly felt worried. Was he suspicious?

"No, not really. I just decided to take my profession more seriously. If I don’t train hard we may die out there."

"That’s right." Kakashi raised a lone eyebrow at how mature the little girl next to him sounded.

When they got to the spot, Sakura set up a couple booby traps around it and Kakashi hid the bell in a small cavern. She settled on the upper part of the rocky formation and Kakashi at the foot. Not long after, Sakura spotted her two teammates approaching cautiously. They were assessing their surroundings and deciding how to enter the clearing without setting any bobby traps that might’ve put there. Both circled the open front of the spot from opposite sides and Sakura signaled Kakashi where they were and he nodded once.

Suddenly, at least a dozen of Naruto shadow clones appeared on the clearing. Five of them went for Sakura and started attacking her. The rest went for Kakashi, along with Sasuke. Sakura skillfully kicked and punched every clone square in the face as they got to her guarding spot, dispelling all of them in ten seconds. When she looked she looked down, she saw that Kakashi had Naruto tied up and Sasuke on a lock hold.

 _Figures_.

Sakura jumped down the seven meter high rock and swiftly landed next to Kakashi. She crouched next to Sasuke and Naruto and smiled.

"Well... I didn’t think you would do it the first time. You have to think of a better strategy."

"Tch." Sasuke broke out of Kakashi's hold and walked to Naruto to cut the ropes. "Come on."

Both males walked away once again to think of a different approach. Sakura sighed and looked at Kakashi with a small smirk.

"You do know that there are almost zero chances that they will get the bell, right?"

"Of course. But I don’t need them winning; I just need them to work as a duo."

And so, a repetitive struggle of the two boys started. At first, their attempts were lame and clearly not well talked through. Sakura was certain that it didn’t mean lack of ability, but lack of communication. They had probably started out defining a plan in only a couple seconds and exchanging only a few words. Also, whenever they failed they would slightly glare at the other one. After fifteen attempts and over two hours, their attacks became much more coordinated. They also took longer to come back and try again, which meant that they were actually discussing things through for real. It was almost funny though, seeing Sasuke's calculating and traditional ideas working together with Naruto's unpredictable and weird ones. Sakura really was thankful that Kakashi had stepped in, since they probably would’ve taken much longer to work together if they hadn’t been forced to - something _she_ didn’t have the authority to do. They still didn’t seem friends or rivals, but every time they went back to think a different strategy they wouldn’t glare at each other anymore.

"All right." Kakashi said with a smile and stopped the two boys from leaving once again. He stared down at the boys sitting on the ground in front of him. "I believe that, after almost four hours of work, you two have kind of stepped closer to what teamwork should be like. I think that you still need to work on your communication though. What do _you_ think, boys?"

"Well, I guess he was not _that_ bad to work with. He's still a bastard though." Naruto sighed.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded, agreeing with the blonde.

Sakura watched them with slight relief; they definitely didn’t have their previous spark yet, but they did seem more civil with each other. Sakura still was certain that their bond was nowhere near what it had been at this point on her previous life. They still seemed uncomfortable around each other, but at least they weren’t on each other’s throats. Maybe they would catch up to their previous friendship in some time. Maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe if things changed for real it wouldn’t be that bad as long as their teamwork functioned.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Wanna grab something to eat?" Naruto asked as he stood up and dusted his orange pants.

"Oh.. I'm supposed to train with Sasuke now... do you want to stay?"

"Sorry, I'm starving." His answer was followed by his stomach’s grumble.

"I can tell." Sakura laughed. "How about tomorrow lunch?"

"Ok, see ya!" Naruto left the two other sitting shinobi with a smile and a wave.

Kakashi bid them goodbye as well and left in a poof of smoke. Thankfully, Naruto didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Sakura was spending time with Sasuke instead of him anymore.

Sakura looked up at the sky and noticed that it was a beautiful red and purple near the horizon and, up above them, the sky was clear and filled with stars. It was such a beautiful sight, that Sakura leaned back to lie on the ground and stare up with more ease. She stayed like that for at least a minute and suddenly heard Sasuke shift next to her. At first, she thought that he would ask to train, but she was surprised when she heard Sasuke's back hit the ground as well. Sakura turned to look him with curiosity, since he had never acted so carefree around her. Of course they were more at ease around each other than when they’d started training together. Their relationship had become much more polite and one could say that they were acquaintances now. The black haired boy even talked to her now – not much though, he wasn’t a different person after all. Sasuke was lying less than a meter away from her, so Sakura could see the dusk light up his face. It made his eyes appear an even deeper shade of obsidian and a soft wind was slightly blowing his bangs up. His face was relaxed into an expression that she had never seen on him.

"It's a great view. I always used to watch the night sky when I was feeling lonely." Sakura spoke after a while.

"I haven’t done this in years." Sasuke commented honestly. "What do you mean you used to?"

"Oh well, it’s been long time ago for me too. I haven’t really found the time anymore." Sakura mumbled. _Ever since the war started..._

Sasuke said nothing, but didn’t make a move to stand up. They stayed like that for minutes, the comfortable silence easing Sakura’s mind and the chilly night air forming goose bumps on her skin.

"I’m glad that you’re on good terms with Naruto now. Being with you all day long was getting really tiring."

"I don’t know if ‘ _good terms’_ is the word you’re looking for." Sasuke sneered. "But at least now I don’t feel like snapping his neck whenever I’m around him."

"Oh.” Sakura almost cringed at that. “Well... maybe he should’ve stayed to train with us today. We could make something out of that, right?"

"I don’t know about that." Sasuke said, still looking up to the stars.

"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned slightly, fearing the he was still reluctant to work with Naruto, and turned to look at his face once again.

"The dobe's not a bad person, but he lacks skills and wouldn’t really push me to go further. You, on the other hand, are a good training partner." Sasuke said calmly. "I'm fine training just with you."

Sakura felt the words get caught up in her throat and her face get hotter. She knew that Sasuke’s words had no ulterior motive and that he had simply states that she was a better training partner. However, the thought of him wanting to spend alone time with her shocked her. Sakura should’ve looked away at that moment, but Sasuke’s relaxed face had caught her in a sort of daze. He must’ve realized that her silence meant something was up, because he tiled his head sideways, coming face to face with her. He obviously couldn’t miss it from such a small distance; her mouth was slightly agape and her cheeks and ear were as red as her old qipao dress.

"Sakura, are you blushing?" Sasuke said and lifted an eyebrow, his expression as impassive as always.

It was only then that Sakura realized that she had been caught red-handed and she sharply turned her head around to face away from him. She felt her heartbeat go faster and bit her lip hard, almost drawing blood. Had she fucked up? Would Sasuke think that she had used to be a fangirl? Would he want nothing to do with her anymore? Thankfully, her catastrophic thoughts were forgotten when she heard him chuckle. Yes, chuckle. _The_ Uchiha Sasuke had actually chuckled and _not_ in a cruel way.

"What?" Sakura demanded as turned to look at him and willed her blush to subside in vain.

"I didn’t take you for a shy person."

"I-I'm not!" Sakura sat up abruptly and shook her head, finally managing to erase her blush. "Whatever, let’s just start training."

Sakura quickly got up and walked away from the Uchiha in an annoyed manner, only turning around to face him when she was far away for the spar to begin. She looked calm on the outside, but in reality she was panicking; Sasuke had her caught her blushing and staring at him. Again, she _had_ to get a grip on her emotions.

\- time skip -

Sakura was glad that she had been training with Sasuke. It had helped her become comfortable around him and he now was also clearly more at ease. They weren’t exactly friends, or any of the sorts, but she was grateful. However, her training sessions with him didn’t allow her to push her abilities much further. So, every morning after training with Sasuke for three or so hours and sleeping for around seven, Sakura trained for a couple more hours by herself. If it weren’t for her medical ninjustsu, her body wouldn’t have been able to keep up; it was a monster agenda, even worse than her own shishou’s had been.

Also, after five days of recently acquired teamwork, Sakura felt much more rested. The emotional strain that had meant spending all day with two bickering teenagers had almost made her lose her mind.  She had now been thinking of a way for them to get a little closer, but she was out of ideas. She had in vain tried to get them to train together or eat out together, because _every time_ she suggested something along those lines, they would always find something else to do. They didn’t fight anymore, but they blatantly ignored each other and only talked if absolutely necessary.

That particular morning though, Sakura woke up more worried about the teamwork issue than usual; if her assumptions were right and her memory wasn’t failing her, this would be the day in which the Wave Country mission would be assigned to them. It was a bid step ahead for them. Naruto would make a vow that would influence his whole life as a shinobi and he would unleash the Nine-tail’s chakra for the first time. On the other hand, Sasuke was going to awaken his sharingan. Because of this, as Team 7 stood in the Hokage’s office, Sakura had to tighten her hands a bit to avoid nervously fidgeting on the hem of her shirt.

"All right. There are a bunch of D-ranked missions available; weeding a garden, babysitting children, helping out at the local market, finding Tora again. You can choose one for today."

Sakura looked at Naruto, waiting for him to complain about how boring their missions were. But, even though he cringed at the possibilities the Hokage had given them, he said not one word. Sakura waited and waited for the expected interruption from the blond, but it never came. Her team simply talked about what mission to choose but didn’t say anything else. The Hokage was about to sign their new D-ranked mission when Sakura spoke, deciding that that mission could under no circumstance be allowed to slip away.

"Please wait, Hokage-sama." She bowed lowly and then looked up again. "Please sign us up for a more difficult mission. We're not getting any experience from the D-ranked ones and we are good enough to complete a higher level mission."

"Yeah!" Naruto added enthusiastically and punched the air. "We'll show you, jii-chan!"

"Hn." Sasuke agreed with a single nod.

"Hmmm... what do you think Kakashi?" The old man questioned.

"They are strong and their teamwork is getting better. I think they are more than capable of taking on a C-rank."

"All right, I'll assign you to a body guarding mission. Tazuna-san, please step in." The Hokage called and a door to their left opened.

"Ahhh? Are these brats going to escort me?" A middle aged man smelling like strong alcohol - Tazuna - entered the Hokage's office. “They look pretty weak, especially the idiot looking short one.”

“Hah! Who’s the short one?” Naruto snickered and looked at his teammate, noticing that he was indeed the short one. “I’ll demolish you!”

Kakashi had to hold his student back with a sigh. “Naruto, we’re supposed to protect the client, not attack him.”

Naruto finally decided to step back and glanced at Tazuna in an annoyed manner. They decided to meet at the gates in an hour, so that each one of them could gather their necessities for the travel. They would be away for at least a week, so they had a lot of packing to do. 

Sakura took out her travel pack and put in enough clothes to last for over a week, some medical supplies, weapons, money and a bit of food for their travel. When she was done she walked down and found her father in the living room. She told him that she was going away on a longer mission and that wouldn’t be back for a week or two. He glanced at her with worry – her parents still hadn’t warmed to the idea of his daughter being a kunoichi – but she eased his worries, telling him that it was a low level mission and they would only have to fight thugs or bandits. His father finally sighed in surrender and bid her goodbye, to which she left with a smile.

As Sakura walked to the village gates, she couldn’t help but disagree with her own previous words to her father. She herself was worried. Their dynamics were nowhere near what they had been and she could only wonder how it would affect the upcoming events.

 

**A/N: All right! There goes the next chapter! I would like to know if Sasuke seems a little OOC for you. I wanted to make him a little more open than previously, seeing that he didn’t dislike Sakura anymore and that he also didn’t see her as a rival.**

**Also… the mission to Wave Country is starting! Uhhhh- if you have any input or ideas for this one let me know. (I have an overall guideline of what I’ll write, but I’m open to any suggestions)**

**Thank you all!**


	7. Wave Mission I

** CHAPTER 7 **

The trees’ leaves were a bright green and the afternoon summer sun would’ve been too hot if it weren’t for the shade provided by the tall crowns. The birds and some other animals were the only living things making any sound in the forest – besides the travelers’ footsteps. After a while of Naruto’s enthusiasm had faded away and Kakashi had managed to ease Tazuna’s reluctance, the five of them had gotten into an easy silence. They had been travelling towards the Wave Country for almost six hours now and, if Sakura recalled correctly, they were soon going to be ambushed. Her good memory wasn’t genius, so she didn’t exactly remember how it had happened. In her mind, it had been over six years ago, so she hadn’t really expected to.

After a while, Sakura noticed something ahead of her; it was a puddle of water in the middle of the road. There were no rivers nearby and it hadn’t rained in months, so she was cautious of it. As they neared it, Sakura discretely glanced towards Kakashi who was now walking next to her on the back of the group. She saw that he was watching it from the edge of his eye as well and sharpened her senses. They had only taken some steps away from the water, when two presences suddenly became apparent to her.

Sakura sharply turned around to watch as two adult shinobi in cloaks launched an attack at her and her sensei. Sakura allowed her developed instincts to take control and swiftly jumped towards where the rest of the group was standing. Naruto’s widened in terror when the two foreign shinobi caught Kakashi with strong chains and _tore_ his flesh apart. Sasuke seemed shocked as well, but he immediately got over it when an attack was aimed at Naruto. Sasuke jumped high into the air and threw a shuriken and a kunai, effectively attaching the chain to a tree trunk. He landed on the shinobi’s arms and simultaneously kicked both of them in the face. Sakura smirked; even as a genin, Sasuke was strong enough to stand his ground against two chuunin.

The two enemies released their hold on the chain and ran at full speed, circling around Sasuke. One of them was going straight to Naruto and the other one was going towards her. Sakura’s mind sped up as she thought of a plan. She couldn’t reveal much of her real abilities – not in this situation at least – but she also wasn’t supposed to stay frozen there. She was supposed to be stronger now in the eyes of her team. In just a second she had made a decision and she launched at the nearing shinobi. When she was just about to be slashed by his iron claws, she ducked and swooped between his feet and grabbed his ankles. She channeled a bit of chakra into her arms and yanked him backwards. He landed in front of her with a small grunt, but Sakura pulled his legs once again. This time, she swirled him up into the air above her and slammed him onto the ground with full force. The poor guy gasped as the air was forced out of his lungs and probably cracked a rib or two. Sakura went behind him and put a kunai to his throat, effectively immobilizing him.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto cried and ran towards her. She looked back and saw that the other shinobi had been caught by Kakashi, just like last time. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I am.” Sakura nodded.

“You were awesome!” Naruto patted her on the shoulder.

“Good job, Sakura, Sasuke. You were better than I expected you to.” Kakashi praised. Naruto tensed next to Sakura and he bit his lip in frustration; he had been completely frozen all along. He was brought back from his despair by his sensei once again. “Naruto, that claws were imbedded with poison and someone must open your wound to take it out. You shouldn’t move too much for now, or it could spread through your body.”

Naruto’s eyes widened in fear and he looked down at his hand with a furrowed eyebrow. Kakashi, in the meantime, questioned the two foreign shinobis and Tazuna. They all found out what Sakura had known all along; Tazuna should’ve requested a higher ranked mission since he was being followed by shinobi. Kakashi finished saying that they should go back, so that Tazuna could hire higher ranked shinobi and so that some took the poison out of Naruto’s wound.

Naruto suddenly turned around, his body tense, and lodged the kunai into the wound of his hand. It started bleeding and prevented the poison from entering his bloodstream. He then promised that he would never run away or back down from any mission, threat, or enemy and that he would never lose to Sasuke. Kakashi mentioned that he would bleed to death if he didn’t treat the wound on his hand. Sakura inwardly chuckled at this; Kakashi was _such_ a bully. No one would ever die from such a wound, but it was good that he had somehow put some sense into Naruto.

“Come here, Naruto. I’ve learned a thing or two about medical ninjutsu.” She sat down on the ground and signaled for him to sit in front of her.

Naruto complied without another word and held his hand in front of her. Sakura pulled out some medical supplied from her bag and proceeded to clean and heal his wound with her chakra. She knew that he didn’t truly need any medical attention since he had the Kyuubi inside of him. Nonetheless, he didn’t know that and having someone treat him would ease his worries. She noticed Kakashi intently studying her procedure, so she tried to fake some struggle and took a longer time than she normally would have.

When Sakura finished treating his wound, they realized that it was almost dawn. So they decided to find a place to camp and ended up settling on a small clearing that was well guarded by trees. Sasuke set up some booby traps around them while Kakashi stayed with Tazuna and built a fire. Sakura and Naruto headed towards the river to get some fished for dinner. Sakura took of her ninja sandals and rolled her leggings up to her mid-thigh before stepping into the shallow water. She bent her body a bit and waited for the preys to come and meet her kunai.

“I’m felt so useless back then.” Naruto confided in her at last. “You and Sasuke were great and reacted immediately. You actually _beat_ those chuunins. On the other hand, I just stood there frozen like an idiot.”

“Don’t punish yourself, Naruto.” Sakura said as she stabbed another fish and threw it to the riverbank. “I’m certain that you are courageous and have great potential, you just have to believe it too. I’ll tell you what. Next time we face an enemy, you and I will work together. I’m sure that we will be victorious.”

“All right, Sakura-chan!” Naruto smirked and pointed at himself. “If you believe in me I _have_ to believe in myself too. We’ll definitely do it!”

Sakura laughed and then stepped out of the water, deciding that they had enough fish for the whole group. They walked back to the clearing and set the fish on stick around the fire. As they waited and ate, Kakashi told them about the political dynamics of the different countries. Sakura also put in a bit of her own contribution, always making sure first that whatever she was going to say had already happened and was open knowledge. When they finished eating up they went to sleep and decided on guard duty. The order would be Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura was shaken awake and she rubbed her eyes for a moment. She opened them and saw that Kakashi was standing next to her sleeping bag. She stood up and put on something warmer. Sakura sat down on a log next to where the fire had been on hours ago.

“Sakura.” Kakashi said and she turned around to let him know she was listening. “You sure know a lot about politics and economy. I didn’t expect a thirteen year old to know such things.”

“Oh, well. I actually enjoy reading about it. Sometimes I head towards the library and read about history and such.” Sakura smiled at her sensei, successfully hiding her discomfort at his question. Of course she knew a lot; not only had she been the Hokage’s apprentice, but she also was almost nineteen in reality.

“That’s good. When you become a higher level kunoichi it will definitely be useful.” He said as he got into his sleeping back. “Night.”

“Night, sensei.” Sakura said and moved to stare back ahead.

Sakura was actually aware so much more than she ever planned to let Kakashi know. She knew about the secrets of Konoha and the Fire Country. How shaky the relationships with the other shinobi countries actually were. She knew all about Danzo and Root. His not at all smooth relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi. She knew about the historic problems that the Senju had had with the Uchiha Clan. How it had ended up in a massacre, which had been assigned to Itachi as a mission. Sakura sighed and massaged her temples. How was she going to prevent Sasuke from killing Itachi _and_ becoming Konoha’s enemy? How could she bring justice to the older Uchiha without destroying the village’s shaky balance on the brink of war? How could she even pretend to do any of this without explaining that she was from the future and possibly screwing up Sasuke’s future?

In the end, she had to focus on the events that would occur sooner. Would Sasuke and Naruto build a stronger bond? Would she be able to prevent Sasuke from getting the cursed mark? If Sasuke did get it and left the village, it would set a much easier path for her to prevent the upcoming war. However, she would forever blame herself for knowing his upcoming change and not doing anything for him. Would Orochimaru stop trying to find Sasuke if she succeeded in preventing him from giving Sasuke the cursed mark in the Forest of Death? Would he choose to stay in the village if that was the case or would he leave and become a rouge nin anyways?

If the war didn’t happen in the future – something she would have to make sure of - and he still left Konoha, there would be no way for him to redeem himself and he would be forever despised. Forever a missing nin with the only aim to kill his brother, who actually had been looking after him all along.

Sakura stood there for two hours, practically trapped in her worries and trying to pay attention to her surroundings. When her shift ended, Sakura got up and walked to where the sleeping bags had been set. Naruto was softly snoring and completely sprawled on the ground with half his body exposed to the cold. She chuckled and slightly covered his legs so that he wouldn’t be cold – not that it would affect the Kyuubi container in any way. Sakura then turned to look at Sasuke, who was lying still on the ground with a tranquil expression on his face and breathing evenly. He looked so innocent like that, the image strongly contrasting with her memories of the Sasuke she had known. Sakura crouched next to him and stared at his face for a moment longer, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was asleep. Suddenly, Sasuke frowned and shifted nervously in his sleep. His breathing became ragged and his expression became frightened. He was having a nightmare. Sakura had to fight the urge to caress his face and help him relax, knowing that it would definitely overstep the unspoken boundaries between them. Instead, she put her hand on his arm and shook him awake.

“Sasuke.” She called and he abruptly opened his eyes, looking around with slight confusion. When he saw Sakura in front of him he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

“My turn?” he asked in a raspy voice and Sakura nodded once.

He sat up and put on a dark blue pullover. Sakura watched him for a moment with a sad look in her eyes. Sasuke must’ve been dealing with nightmares by himself since he was only eight. It was heartbreaking that a child had been put through so much at such a tender age and if it had been up to Sakura, she would’ve put a shinobi adult in charge of him. Maybe it was not too late to help him go through it. As Sasuke sat down on the log, Sakura carefully approached him.

“Hey. You were having a nightmare. Are you all right?” she tentatively asked, fearing that he would be annoyed that she was prying into his business. He nodded once, but didn’t say anything else with his eyes locked ahead of him and into the forest. “If you ever want to talk about it to someone…”

Sakura trailed off and he nodded once, but then didn’t make any other movement. At first she was hopeful that he would tell her something about it. _Anything_. But when the silence stretched for over a minute she sighed. Of course he wouldn’t tell her anything. Sasuke had never been open with his feelings to anyone but Naruto, and even then he had only ever been while fighting the blonde to the death. She turned around and walked to her sleeping bag in silence. Neither said a word or made a move to interact with one another as she pulled the zipper up and closed her eyes. At first, Sakura’s mind was troubled at the thought of Sasuke handling a burden as strong as his on his own. But, eventually, she managed to fall asleep once again.

The next day, they set off at 8 am sharp to make sure that they arrived to Tazuna’s home village before the noon sun was too hot. They got into a canoe and crossed a big river. The fog surrounding them was so think that they barely anything could be seen ahead. It also meant they it would be almost impossible for anyone else to see them, which was exactly what Tazuna was after. As they silently moved across the water, Tazuna explained to them how Gato had his small village under his thumb and had become a tyrant. Everyone in the village had succumbed to poverty and therefore they couldn’t pay for a higher ranked mission. The bridge Tazuna was building would completely turn the situation around and Gato would lose most of his influence. Of course his life was in danger; the transporter not only powerful and rich, he also was widely known as a greedy and cruel man.

The canoe went through a tube under a hill and, when they got out at the other end, the mist was gone. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining on the vigorous flora, most of which consisted in trees that were growing _on_ the water. I really did look like a postal card. They got off the boat and waved the boater good-bye, who wished them luck and left. The group set off and soon was walking through a forest. Suddenly, Naruto turned to the left and threw his kunai at a bush, making everyone tense up. Kakashi walked to where the blonde had aimed and crouched in front of a tree.  There was a small white bunny cowering down against the tree and right under where Naruto’s kunai had hit.

“Ohhhh, nooo!” Naruto ran at the small animal and held him up in worry. “I’m sorry, bunny! Are you all right?”

Sakura smiled a bit, knowing that she must’ve definitely given Naruto an earful in her previous life, but now thinking that he was actually innocent and _almost_ sweet. However, as soon as she further examined the small bunny for injuries, she noticed that it was a snow rabbit. That particular species only had white fur during the winter, but it was the middle of the summer. A _wild_ rabbit that had been living outdoors wouldn’t be colored white, so something was definitely up. Sakura turned slightly around and watched Kakashi, who also had his guard up and was looking around with suspicion. Suddenly, the air became thick, making both Sakura and Kakashi squat in anticipation.

“DUCK!” Kakashi yelled just as a huge sword swirled cutting the air at an incredible speed.  Everyone did as instructed and the blade of the huge weapon got stuck on a tree trunk on the other side of the forest gap.

When Naruto realized that there an enemy was standing in front of them, he moved to confront him. Thankfully, before he could make it further than a couple steps, Sakura took a hold of his hand. He turned around in confusion and Sakura shook her head and squeezed her hand, pleading him to stay back and not engage the man on his own.

Kakashi explained that Zabuza was on a whole other level, being an ex ANBU and an expert in silent assassination. He was now a missing nin and known as the ‘Demon of the Hidden Mist’. He ordered the rest of his team to protect to bridge builder and revealed his sharingan. Sakura noticed how Sasuke tensed, shocked at the revelation and probably suspicious about Kakashi. Zabuza used a jutsu that created a thick mist around them, much like the one that had been covering the river previously.

“Wh-what is this?” Naruto whispered, his voice notoriously low due to caution.

"This jutsu allows him to hide in the fog and kill without a warning. Be careful." Kakashi said and looked around for a while, failing in trying to locate their enemy. He then made a hand sign and his chakra swirled around, clearing the mist around the whole group. Sasuke notoriously tensed next to Sakura and she held his hand tightly, trying to soothe him a bit. Of course that a jonin level killing intent would strong enough to terrify any genin – even Sasuke - and Sakura could only try to remember how she had felt the first time during that battle. Sasuke seemed to be brought out of his daze at the contact and he took a deep breath in.

"Don't worry." Kakashi's words were clear as he looked at them over his shoulder. "I will not allow my teammates to get hurt."

The upcoming events were the same as the last time around; Kakashi and Zabuza fought trying to fool each other with clones. When the silver haired jonin followed Zabuza into the water, he realized that it was not a regular lake. Unluckily, by the time had, it was already too late and was caught by caught in his water prison. Zabuza created a water clone and Kakashi ordered the rest of them to escape, saying that there was no way that they could ever win. Sasuke, being as smart as he was, pointed out that even though they tried to escape, they would eventually get caught. Sakura looked at her two male teammates with caution; they didn’t seem to want to work together like last time. Instead, they were throwing glances her way, probably trying to figure out if she had a plan. Sakura knew that it was time for Naruto to gain some personal experience and confidence. She locked eyes with the blonde, who was on the opposite side of Sasuke, and they shared a knowing look. However, before Sakura could move, Sasuke hand tightened around her own to hold her in place.

"You can't possibly consider putting your life in the hands of that dobe." he whispered with a slight frown on his face.

"You will be surprised of what he can do." Sakura smirked at him.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto spoke up with enthusiasm.

"Let's go!" Sakura said and felt Sasuke's warm hand leave her own as she stepped forward. "Can you create 15 clones?"

"Believe it!" Naruto smirked and did as she said.

As Sasuke stayed in front of Tazuna, 10 Naruto clones attacked the water clone that Zabuza had cast. Each one of the clones grabbed on to the missing nin's arms, legs and torso with all of their might. The water clone took a couple seconds, but he managed to dispel all of them in one swift move. However, when it did, it realized that the other 7 Naruto's were aiming at the original Zabuza, who was still holding Kakashi's water prison in place.

Five clones that were running in front of the pack, launched at the missing nin, but he effortlessly cut though all of them with one strike. The second after he did, another Naruto came at him with full speed and he struck once again, but something unexpected happened. When his sword was supposed to cut through the clone, it caught - yes, caught - his sword with its bare hands. As blood started dripping down its hands, the clone poofed and, in its place, appeared the pink haired girl. She had an almost smug look in her face that made Zabuza want to crush her petite form. However, before he could think any more down that line, the original Naruto appeared on his other side, right between him and the water prison. The blond was jumping at him with a kunai in hand, aiming directly to his throat. Zabuza tried to yank his sword away from the girl's hold, but it was surprisingly iron strong. He cursed under his breath and jumped up in a circular motion above Sakura, landing on the other side of her. The movement had successfully forced her to let go of the huge sword, but had also forced Zabuza to free Kakashi from the water prison.

"Arrgh!!" Zabuza growled in fury and slashed at the teens standing next to him. Sakura's eyes widened at the motion, because the trajectory of the sword would also get Naruto, who was barely getting to his feet. She knew that he might not be able to move away in time, so she jumped at him with full speed and pushed him back and down to the floor. Sakura felt the sharp blade slash just above her head just before both genin landed on the ground forcefully.

Sakura immediately twisted her body around to have the both of them roll away from the missing nin. They immediately got up and ran back to their previous spot where Sasuke and Tazuna were standing. When Sakura stood still, she noticed two things; the first one was that Kakashi had already engaged Zabuza in battle. The second one was that, for some reason, her previously tightly tied up long hair was on her face. She moved one of her hands up to brush her bangs away, but realized that her hair was now short. When Zabuza had slashed at her, he had missed her head, but had managed to cut her hair. Sakura lowly chuckled at the irony; it was almost as short as it had been on her previous life, a length that she had been planning on getting sometime soon.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "Are you all right?"

"It's only hair, Naruto. I was planning on cutting it anyways, since it sometimes gets in the way." Sakura shrugged.

"He means your hands, Sakura." Sasuke's deep voice spoke and she felt his warm hand take a hold on her own.

"Oh." Sakura was momentarily taken aback by the tenderness with which he had raised on of her injured hands. He was holding her palms up and was glancing down at them with a deep frown in his face. When she looked down at her injury she realized why they were worried. Her wound was bleeding profusely and her flesh had been cut all the way to the bone, cutting some of it, too. Only now that the high levels of adrenaline in her blood were lowering, the _sharp_ throbbing registered in her mind. Sakura was glad that her pain endurance had developed with the years, since a bone injury would normally render anyone unable to move from the pain. She forced her voice out and spoke with a slight tremble. "I'll heal it, no problem."

Sakura moved her hands away from Sasuke’s, who threw her one last glance, before getting is attention caught in the fight once again. She put her hands together and healed her injuries in a matter of seconds, just in time before nausea settled. She was grateful that the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza was intense enough to pull everybody’s concentration away from her developed skills. Just like last time, Kakashi had copied most of the missing nin's techniques and the latter became furious by that fact. Kakashi managed to get the upper hand in the battle and was about to deliver the finishing blow, when Zabuza was pierced with sendon in the neck by someone else. Everyone turned around to see a newly arrived Kirigakure hunter nin - Haku - who explained that he had been tailing Zabuza for a long time. He took the huge body off the ground, threw him over his shoulder with ease and took off. Kakashi then started heading towards where the rest of the group was standing, but his pace was more of a stumble. Sakura's trained medic eye caught his swaying before he collapsed and she was by his side just in time to hold him up and prevent him from getting a concussion or something. Naruto and Sasuke were immediately by their sensei's side, arguing to Sakura that she had to rest more than they did and taking the older man away from her hold. Tazuna immediately offered that they stayed back at his house, so they followed him there.

After setting Kakashi on a comfy bed, Naruto left to the bathroom in a hurry and Tazuna went looking for his daughter. So, once again, Sakura and Sasuke were all alone as they sat in their appointed room. Sakura, however, was absolutely sure that something was off. First of all, Sasuke was completely tense, which could be explained by the fact that this had been his first real battle experience. However, and secondly, he was _intentionally_ ignoring her and avoiding looking her way. Sakura looked at him, trying to get his attention, but didn’t succeed. In the end, she decided to try anyways. They did kind of get along now, right?

"Sasuke." Sakura said, but he ignored her _purposefully_ and even slightly turned his head away from her. She moved her hand to hold his forearm softly, trying to lessen the distance between them. "Hey, if I did something wrong or-"

Sakura didn’t get to finish her sentence, because Sasuke sharply jerked his arms away from her hold and stood up. He turned his head to look at her from over his shoulder with an annoyed expression and then left. Sakura was rendered speechless by his outburst. On one hand, he had never reacted like this to her on this timeline and it seemed completely out of character for him to be so impulsive. On the other hand, Sakura somehow felt mentally brought back to her old twelve year old self, the one filled with insecurities. His reaction at her had screamed annoyance and irritation and she could help but wonder if all the progress that she'd thought she'd made with him had gone to waste.

 

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Here goes the first part of the Wave Mission. Please tell me if you like what I did with it and what you think of team 7’s development. Do you have any thoughts on Sasuke’s reaction on the last part?**

**I want to thank everyone so much for reviewing, as always! Please let me know whatever it is you think of the chapter and the story.**


	8. Wave Mission II

** CHAPTER 8 **

The night they’d arrived, everybody had gone to bed after putting Kakashi to sleep. The travel had been long and they were all tired from both walking and fighting. It had been decided that Kakashi would sleep on a room of his own so that he could properly recover and the three genin would share the other room. Sakura stayed awake for a while on the mattress, silently watching the sleeping Uchiha next to her as if his sleeping form would provide her with the answers that she sought about his sudden attitude. After an hour of restlessness, she finally managed to force her body into a light slumber. She felt Tsunami’s presence before she heard her and sat up to meet just as she opened the door.

“Oh, Sakura. Were you awake?” the young woman asked and the pink-haired girl nodded. Sasuke quietly turned around to face the newcomer, who had obviously disrupted his sleep. “Good. I was planning on waking you anyways, because your sensei just woke up.”

“That’s good news. We were worried about him.” Sakura feigned relief – she already knew he was all right - and moved out of her mattress. She picked up some fresh clothes and then turned to look at her blonde friend, who was still sleeping like a rock. “Naruto! Get up!”

Sakura allowed her eyes to stop on Sasuke for a moment and he met her gaze for a second or two, but then awkwardly averted his eyes. Sakura sighed and, after checking that Naruto was indeed waking up, left to change on the bathroom. It was disappointing that Sasuke was still ignoring her, since Sakura had assumed that his resentment would be forgotten by the next day. Apparently, whatever it was that was bothering him, it was not something irrelevant. Sakura decided to ask him about it when she had the chance, since she was just getting used to the newly acquired concord between her male teammates and she didn’t want to have _more_ issues to deal with.

Kakashi was obviously overcome with chakra depletion; Sakura’s expert medical eye could tell. His eyes were a bit sunken, his body was clearly weakened and his skin tone was even paler than usual. When he noticed his students and Tazuna walking into his bedroom, he struggled to sit up.

“Sensei, let me give you a hand.” Sakura said and helped him sit up.

“Thank you. How are the three of you putting up?” Kakashi asked and received positive answers.

“What happened to you, sensei?” Sasuke asked.

“It was chakra depletion. I overused my sharingan in the fight against Zabuza and probably won’t be able to move at 100% for five days or maybe even a week.” Kakashi sighed at the implied meaning of that; they would have to stay there for another week.

“Well, at least that weird guy took care of Zabuza. Who was he anyways?” Naruto asked.

“It was a hunter nin. They are elite shinobi of the hidden villages that hunt down missing nin or KIA shinobi. Their work is very important, because if nobody takes care of them, special techniques or secrets of the village could be acquired by enemies.”

“So, aren’t hunter nins supposed to retrieve the rouge ones and take them for a trial or something?” Sakura asked, intentionally pushing the conversation into the right direction.

“No, most of the time hunter nins are assigned to criminals that have a death sentence upon them.”

“I see.” Sakura scratched her chin in ‘thought’. “I wonder though. You know how I’ve been studying some medic ninjutsu, right? I’ve read that in order to kill with senbon, the user must be extremely qualified. What if that hunter nin missed the lethal spot?”

“Actually, hunter nins are meant to destroy the bodies of their targets. Now that you mention it, the way the events unfolded yesterday make me suspicious at the very least.” Kakashi closed his eyes for a couple seconds. “Scratch that. I’m pretty sure that Zabuza is _alive_.”

“What!” Naruto almost stood up from his sitting position at the statement.

“How could that be?” Sasuke frowned.

“He didn’t dispose of Zabuza’s body on the spot and even took him away. It’s completely abnormal for a hunter nin to act like that, so we can safely assume that he was Zabuza’s ally.”

“But wasn’t he dead already?” Naruto frowned.

“It’s easy to fake somebody’s dead with senbon, right Sakura?”

“Hai. As Kakashi-sensei says, senbon can be used to pierce certain spots on the body. If the user is greatly skilled and versed in acupuncture, he can do a great amount of things. He can either assassinate in a second or even stop heartbeat temporarily, without actually killing.” Sakura said.

“So… this means that Zabuza will come after us again?” Tazuna frowned, certainly worried for his life.

“Yes, probably.” Kakashi said. “But don’t worry; he will probably be healed at around the same time as me, if not later. We will stay here until he comes back and defeat him, this time for sure.”

“Thank goodness.” Tazuna exhaled and bowed a bit. “Thank you, Kakashi-san.”

“However, I won’t do this by myself. Last time, I did in fact receive a bit of help from my team.” Kakashi looked at his students and smiled a bit. “So, for the remaining days that we’re here, I will train you.”

“Okay! Let’s go! I will learn it in no time, sensei!” Naruto cheered and Kakashi moved to stand up.

“Stop.” Sakura said sternly and looked at her sensei almost harshly. “There’s no way you can move around like this. Chakra depletion is not something to be taken _this_ lightly and you must stay in bed at least for today.”

“Ahh, I almost forgot that we now have a medic on the team.” Kakashi laughed jokingly, but Sakura knew him well enough and could tell that he was actually covering up for his uneasiness. She clearly remembered how much he had hated hospitals and had acted ridiculously just in order to avoid a doctor. Sakura simply stared back at him and crossed her arms in front of her to make a point, forcing Kakashi to give in. “All right… We will start training tomorrow morning.”

When everybody left Kakashi to rest, Tazuna told the three genin about his immediate need to go to the bridge and supervise a specifically complex maneuver. They immediately offered to escort him there, and ended up spending all day out there and Tsunami and Inari even had to bring them lunch to their guarding post. The work was finished just before dawn and, by the time the three of them had gotten home, it was already dark. Sakura had been planning to talk to Sasuke that day, but hadn’t gotten the chance and didn’t press it since he didn’t seem as bitter as the day before. When they finished having dinner, Sakura offered team 7 to wash the dishes – which got her disapproving glances from both boys. She tried to make them understand that it was common courtesy _and_ that Tazuna’s family was not at all rich, so it was the least they could do given that they were being fed. The day ended just like that and, before Sakura could bat an eye, they had gone to sleep already.

The next day, Kakashi lead team seven out to a forest so that they could start their training. He explained to them the importance of chakra control and how it getting better at it would improve their overall abilities. He said that they would climb trees in order to do that and demonstrated it by walking up the tree trunk. When the three genins did as he showed them, Sakura was – once again – the best, followed by Sasuke and then Naruto. She looked down at her team from the top branch as Naruto and Kakashi praised her.

“Sakura-chan! You’re the best!”

“Well, I must say I’m not at all surprised. Medical ninjutsu requires great chakra control, so I already assumed that you were good at it.” Kakashi said. “What do you say about doing something more advanced?”

“Really?” Sakura’s eyes widened a bit at that. In her previous life, Kakashi hadn’t given her much attention – not that she blamed him though; she had only cared about Sasuke at the time and hadn’t really put much effort into training. Sakura nodded at her sensei and stepped down of the trees as Kakashi led the way out of the clearing. She glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye, noting that he hadn’t said a single word to her about her accomplishment. The two of them had been training together for months now and he had become open enough to point out both her strengths and weaknesses. If Sasuke hadn’t even spared a glance at her, it had to mean that he was _still_ upset with her.

“Sakura?” Kakashi said and Sakura sharply turned to her sensei, realizing that she had been standing _and staring_ for a couple minutes, and scurried behind him. The older jonin stopped just after leaving the clearing and turned to Sakura. “All right. I assumed you’ve been working on your chakra control for a while, since you can already heal minor injuries with medic ninjutsu.”

“Hai. As soon as I figured how important it was for healing I stared reading about how to improve it on my own.”

“Ok. How far have you gotten?”

“Eh… let’s see…” Sakura quickly assessed how much she should be able to do without raising suspicion and that allowed healing with chakra. “I can walk on water and can do needle and kunai standing on my fingertips.”

“Oh? You have gotten really far for a genin. I’d even say that half chunnins have trouble with kunai standing. Impressive.” Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Sakura tried to appear shy and scratched the back of her head. She just hoped that Kakashi wouldn’t suspect anything, he was smart enough to. She could’ve chosen a different answer, but then he would’ve become _more_ suspicious, because it would’ve been obvious that she was hiding her abilities. It would be impossible to successfully perform any kind of medical ninjutsu without achieving at least those exercises. “Let’s see… I think you should try so master sun block. Its aim is to use chakra to form a coat around your skin and protect it from sun radiation. I think it would be something different in your case, because it requires focusing charka on your whole body.”

“I think I understand the concept… how will I know if it’s working?”

“You will feel the sun with much less force on your skin as you improve.” Kakashi said and Sakura nodded. “I’ll go check on the boys. We don’t want them making any trouble, do we? Come find me if you need any help.”

When Sakura was alone once again, she sighed and sat down on a sunny spot. Of course, Tsunade had made sure to train Sakura in the whole art of chakra control, so Sakura had already done this. However, she hadn’t _mastered_ it, since as a medical shinobi she usually needed her chakra to focus on her hands only. This time around, the sun wouldn’t be able to touch or heat her skin.

Sakura trained on her own for the whole day and the next one. By the end of the second day on training, Sakura had already mastered sun blocking. It had been a quick improvement, especially considering that mastering a technique took much longer than learning the basics. Sakura didn’t really expect any less of herself; if there was something that she’d always prided herself on, it was her natural ability at chakra control. When she decided that she was done, she headed back to the clearing to meet the boys.

“Ahhh!” Naruto screamed and cut the tree trunk as Sakura entered the clearing. She looked at both their progress and noted that Naruto was behind Sasuke. It was to be predicted though; Sasuke had been training chakra control with her for a month now. “Sakura-chan!”

“Hey.” Sakura smiled at the smiling blonde. “How are you guys doing?”

“Well… I’ve been trying to improve… but’s it’s not as easy as it seems.” Naruto sighed and crossed his arms in front of him, a slight pout forming on his face. “Will you give me some advice?”

“No problem!” Sakura beamed at him and then turned to Sasuke. “Eh… Sasuke. Do you want some advice too?” she said looking at the boy’s back, but he didn’t even acknowledge her.

“What’s the bastard’s problem?” Naruto whispered leaning into her and frowned.

“I don’t know.” She whispered back.

Sakura’s eyes softened for a moment but then decided to put it all behind her. She her advice to Naruto on a loud enough voice for Sasuke to hear. She acted as if she was oblivious, but she could _tell_ that he was eavesdropping on her explanation. He had stood still as she spoke and, when she was finished, he launched at the tree again and got distinctly higher this time. Sakura couldn’t suppress the smirk that pulled her lips up; Sasuke was _such_ a proud person. Seeing him act like this over such nonsense made a sort of tenderness build in her chest.

 

The next afternoon, Tazuna’s house received terrible news; another one of Tazuna’s workers had decided to quit. They were all too scared of Gato’s influence and cruelty, so they were dropping off little by little. Sakura couldn’t blame them though; most of them had families and couldn’t risk the tyrant taking revenge on their wives or children. When the worker left the house, the mood had completely shifted from tranquility to gloominess. It was obvious that every family member was worried that the bridge would never be completed and the sentiment flowed out to the atmosphere. Suddenly Tsunami’s eyes widened and she brought her hands to cup her face.

“Oh, dear! I forgot I needed to go the marked today.” Tsunami said and started moving around in a hurried manner, trying to gather whatever she needed to go.

“Tsunami-san.” Sakura walked up to her. “Please let us go in your stead.”

“How could I? You’re my guests!”

“Yes, and you’ve been treating us with great hospitality. Apart from working real hard on that, you’ve been through a lot today. Please get some rest and let us handle grocery shopping for today.” Sakura smiled at her.

Of course, the young woman couldn’t refuse her offer once again, and so Team 7 – minus Kakashi, who was still recovering – left towards the city market. None of them had really seen the local situation before, since Tazuna lived in the outskirts of the city. So, as they walked down the commercial streets of the downtown, the three of them were shocked by the poverty that those people were living in. Half the population’s clothing were nothing more than rags, which were not only torn but dirty as well. At least three quarters of the people they came across were skinny, many of them borderline famished and starved. Some children were so underfed, that their collarbones were unnaturally pronounced and their legs were so thin that it was a wonder how they could support the weight of their bodies – not that it was much though. They walked around asking for any piece of bread or whatever could be offered to them. Sakura didn’t remember what her reaction had been the first time, but now all she could do was wordlessly give them all of her money, knowing that they needed it much more than she did. She was thankful that she had left most of her savings back at the house, or she would’ve given everything away. As she gave everything she had away to the small children, she felt her eyes glued to their hollow orbs as they passed by. Sakura, not only as a medic, but as a sensible person, felt terribly distressed at the sight. She was used to death on the battlefield and used the seeing shinobi bleeding to the death. However, seeing innocent souls going through the slow torture of starvation would hit a nerve in her _every time_.

“Sakura-chan?” Naruto brought her out of her thoughts. “Did you hear me? Over there is a green vegetable stand.”

“Oh. Right.” Sakura said. It’s not that her male teammates were _heartless_ – because she could see the sadness in their eyes as they watched the skinny people pass by – but they had quickly recovered from the initial shock. So, she decided to quickly hand the money and the grocery list to Sasuke. “Please.”

He wordlessly looked into her eyes for a couple seconds and finally nodded before receiving the items. Sasuke was not a person of many words and was more a person of gestures and meaningful glances. Sakura knew that Sasuke was a sensible person – no matter how much he had tried to prove otherwise in her previous life – and that he would understand her quiet request. Sasuke took care of everything when buying the needed items, and Sakura was glad that he did. He even told Naruto to be quiet when he kept bugging her about which vegetables to pick. Those small gestures alone meant more to Sakura than the raven haired boy would ever know. After being shaken out of her mind by the sight, Sasuke’s unexpected and modest kindness had filled her war-torn heart with warmth.

Finally, after an hour of walking around and buying the listed items, they got back to the house. Tsunami thanked them profusely for doing her errands and started making dinner. Sakura decided to help her out – she really needed to keep her mind from going back to what she’d seen earlier that day. They all ate dinner with some quiet conversation – mostly Naruto’s – and thanked for the food. Sakura stood up to help Tsunami out, but stopped when she came across a picture that stood on a side table on the dining room. She clearly remembered _this_ one from her previous life; it was a family portrait from back when-

“Hey, Tazuna-san!” Naruto’s loud voice echoed from behind her. “Why is this picture torn? It’s weird, because the only torn part is somebody’s face.”

The air tensed and Tazuna explained that the person in the picture was Inari’s deceased step-father, who had once been a hero in the village. Inari had been heartbroken after his death and didn’t believe anymore that heroes existed. Inari ran out of the room wordlessly, with Tsunami quickly following behind him. Naruto stood up from his chair with determination and swore that he would prove Inari that heroes _did_ exist. After that statement he pumped his fist and stormed out the door.

“Well, I can’t say I didn’t predict this.” Kakashi sweat dropped.

“Me neither.” Sakura nodded.

“Hn.”

“You two should go to sleep soon, remember that tomorrow we’re training once again at 7 sharp.” Kakashi said and waved his two students good-bye.

Sakura went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. When she was ready, she headed towards the room that the three genin were sharing and opened the door. She was startled by the fact that only Sasuke was there and Naruto was gone. It _had_ been obvious, but she hadn’t taken into account that she would share a room only with _him_. Together. It was not as if they hadn’t slept close to eachother before - because they had – but sharing a _room_ with him alone was somehow different. Sakura realized that she had stood still by the closed door and had been staring at her mattress and Sasuke’s back and forth. Her eyes slowly trailed towards Sasuke, who was sitting on his bed, hoping that he didn’t notice her weird behavior. To her embarrassment, he was looking right at her when she met his eyes and she could’ve sworn that he smirked almost imperceptibly.

“I’m not Kakashi nor Naruto.” Sasuke reassured her with a straight voice and then laid down, turned his back to her and covered himself.

Sakura felt a blush build on her cheeks as she walked to her mattress. The fact that Sasuke had noted her thoughts on such a matter made her feel truly self-conscious. Thankfully, Sasuke was a serious and reliable guy – for now that is – and wouldn’t do anything impulsive. Actually, scratch the ‘thankfully’ part. For a moment, and as Sakura laid with her back towards Sasuke, she wished that he was just the opposite of that. That he was just as much of a pervert as she and the rest of the team was. Sakura had to physically smack herself when Icha-Icha Paradise scenes that were similar to her situation started playing in her head. She closed her eyes hoping that her dreams wouldn’t go _that_ way when the object of her thoughts was sleeping right next to her. Sadly for her, that option would’ve been better.

 

_Sakura looked around at the shadowed surroundings. If it were up to her, she would assess this night as – not the darkest – but the brightest ever. Sadly and even though it sounded pretty, it was not. The sky was completely covered by smoke as far as the eye could see, effectively covering the stars and the moon above her. Everything around her was on fire, and the light emitted from the flames was reflecting on the smoke above with such force, that it almost seemed like daytime. Sakura jumped aside once again, dodging a burning tree which had fallen her way. Her gasps were getting too sharp and too strained due to the thick smoke that she’d been breathing for hours, for weeks. Her sharp abilities as a sensor – earned through the hardships of war – were trying to persuade her of going further. They were screaming at her that she better go back, that she would only hurt herself by moving forward. That she would find no one alive, once again. That she would be too late._

_“Hmp!” Sakura groaned as she avoided getting crushed by yet another tree._

_Sakura knew that she should’ve turned back, but her emotional side couldn’t let go of the slight hope to which she still hung to. She had to make sure that she’d done all she could before breaking down once again. Finally and from behind the burning trees and the smoke, a small village came into view. Instead of feeling relieved, Sakura’s adrenaline went even higher and she felt panic surge through her. Her chakra senses once again screamed at her that there was not a living soul in there._

_The small village must’ve been the home of around 600 people, and it was just like all the ones she’d found these last months – the big cities and villages had been wiped out first of all and these were all that were left. In this one though, all that remained was the wrecked walls of what she guessed used to be houses. The streets were a mess and Sakura could tell that it was not only due to the attack of the ten tails and the fire, but also caused by human action. The attack of the ten tailed beast had fucked everything up so deeply, that even neighbors had turned on each other when trying to get a hold on whatever water or food they could._

_Sakura had been walking around for at least ten minutes, trying to find anyone that was still alive, even if barely. What good were her medical abilities, when everywhere she came across was packed only by corpses? All she could see around her were bodies that were either grotesquely burnt or covered by blood. Every now and then, Sakura would come across a person that had died from starvation instead of an attack. Those were the ones she was sorry for the most; she’d always heard about how terrible the pains of starvation were, but she’d only learnt the real magnitude of it when she felt it herself. These people had probably suffered for months before dying. Sakura was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a heart-breaking sight._

_“Oh god.” She mumbled between gasps and fell to her knees._

_Her trembling hands picked up the tiniest and lightest being she’d ever held. It was the body of small baby – probably not older than a month or two – which had clearly died of inanition not too long ago. Sakura decided that it must’ve died a day ago, because its skin was still intact – with a bluish color though. She little thing was so incredibly thin, that Sakura guesses that it must’ve weighted not much more than a kilogram, meaning that the weight she was holding up was mostly bones. Sakura knew that babies always had big eyes, because they grew only a little throughout life. However, this particular one’s looked incredibly big – due to the lost fat on its face - and made him or her appear much more vulnerable. He also looked so much older. It was… like a baby elder. It was terrifying and incredibly sad at the same time._

_Sakura looked down at the blood covered ground as a shiver went up her spine and her eyes were filled with tears once again. When she looked back at the baby in her hands, she was frozen in her spot. The baby’s eyes, now wide instead of lidded, had trailed towards her form and were staring right into her own. It was staring at her with quiet resentment; upset about being allowed to die when someone must’ve been caring for it. Sakura felt her hands shake as she held the little bundle, unable to let go and allow it to fall on the ground. The baby must’ve felt her fear, because its expression became furious and it opened its mouth, a loud and high pitched screech come out of it._

“AH!” Sakura sat up abruptly and clutched the spot where her heart was beating at an unhealthy fast rate. Her whole body was drenched in sweat and she had to close her eyes for a second.

She looked around frantically and, through her angst, managed to note two things. First of all, she realized that she was in Tazuna’s house and it was already the break of dawn, since the sky outside was tinted with orange. Secondly, Sasuke had turned to face her on his mattress and was staring at her with an unreadable expression. Sakura tore her gaze away from him and turned her body around, not wanting him to see her like that. She bent her knees and supported her forearms on them, fisting her hands as she fought the incessant shaking on her whole body. When she finally stopped quavering, she felt tears pooling in her eyes and closed them tightly.

As time had gone by on this timeline, the nightmares – memories – of the fourth shinobi world war had slowly diminished. Now, almost a year after she’s arrived, it’d been _months_ since she’d last had one. It had to be _now_ that she was on a mission and in front of _Sasuke_ of all people that she had to dream such a strong memory. She could only imagine how much she’d been mumbling and whimpering in her sleep, since she felt that her dream had been going on for ages. Sakura wondered if, now that she was starting with missions, this kind of dreams would start plaguing her all over again. This particular once had, without doubt, been induced by what she’d seen during the day.

“Hey.” Sasuke’s deep voice rang behind her and she could tell from its closeness that he had gotten out of bed to sit right behind her. Sakura acknowledged him by slightly turning her head to the side, still keeping her tear struck face hidden from him with her hair. “Are you all right?”

Sakura nodded once, but didn’t say anything; she knew that her voice would break if she did. Sasuke must’ve inferred that she was crying, since she usually never hid her face from whoever addressed her as a sign of respect. She inwardly thanked him for being collected and respectful of people’s personal space, because he quietly retreated and left her alone. If it’d been Naruto, he would’ve bugged her to no end and she wouldn’t have known how to handle that right now; she obviously couldn’t tell anybody what her nightmare had been about.

Eventually, Sakura accomplished the task of getting out of the room in one piece and into the bathroom. After sitting in there for another ten minutes, she washed up and got dressed in her kunoichi clothes. There were slight circles under her eyes, she noted, and she looked quite unrested. Sakura entered the kitchen to find that everyone was sitting around the table and breakfast was being served.

“I’m sorry I didn’t help you out.” Sakura apologized to Tsunami, since she was the _only_ one who actually helped her with the housework, even if it was a bit.

“Don’t worry Sakura-san.”  Tsunami smiled at her warmly.

“Your blond friend didn’t come back last night.” Tazuna informed her.

“He didn’t?” Sakura frowned a bit at the piece of information. She could faintly remember that the same thing had happened last time.

“He probably fell asleep on the spot after training non-stop.” Kakashi sighed. “He’s so stubborn.”

Sakura quickly finished her breakfast and then stood up, excusing herself. She announced that she was going to go out to find Naruto and bring him back. She was about to leave the dining room, when Sasuke stood up as well.

“I’m going with you.”

“Oh. Ok, come on.” She nodded and left the house, with Sasuke closely walking behind her. “I believe that he must be somewhere in the forest in which you’ve been training tree climbing.”

Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the populated area and got to said forest in a couple of minutes. The silence had stretched out since they’d left the house and Sakura wasn’t sure if it was a comfortable one or an awkward one. It was kind of peaceful and without any tension, but there was a lingering feeling of an unsettled issue between the both of them. After walking around for a minute or two, Sakura sensed Naruto’s chakra not far from them and led Sasuke that way. When they found the blond genin, Sakura smiled and hurried his way.

“Naruto! You didn’t come back last night.”

“Hey!” he beamed at her and then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “It seems I fell asleep under this tree after training last night, hehe.”

“That was pretty irresponsible.” Sasuke pointed out. “Everyone was worried about you, you know?”

“I was doing my best to improve and be helpful to the team.” Naruto practically snapped at Sasuke and Sakura could tell that the tension between the both of them was still there.

“Well, at least you’re all right now. Why didn’t you head back if you were awake?” Sakura tried to change the subject.

“Well… I woke up not long ago. Something weird happened.” He looked ahead with deep concentration. “I was woken up by one of the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen! And in the end… it turned out that it was a guy! How weird is that?”

“Maybe you’re into guys.” Sakura smirked playfully at him as she raised an eyebrow.

“EH? No way!” Naruto shuddered.

“You should be thankful that it was a civilian. If it’d been Zabuza, you would’ve been in great trouble.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you’d be dead by now. Falling asleep out here on your own was a pretty stupid thing to do when the enemy is somewhere around here.”

“I don’t need you giving me any advices, Sasuke.” Naruto closed his eyes in annoyance and then opened them to look at the pink-haired female in front of him. “I’m going on ahead, Sakura-chan. I’ll meet you back at Tazuna’s house.”

“Er… ok.” Sakura said as Naruto left her and Sasuke alone once again. Sakura knew that Sasuke was right about what he’d said, but he should’ve known that things between them were not good enough for him to lecture Naruto.

“That dobe.” Sasuke mumbled.

“He’s reckless like that.” She smiled. “But it’ll make him a good shinobi one day, you’ll see.”

“You seem to have a lot of faith in him.”

“Oh, I do. I know that the both of you will become great shinobi.” She smiled at Sasuke and then her eyes turned soft. “Hey. I want to ask you something.”

“Hn.”

“Well… since we arrived to the village I’ve been feeling like you’re kind of upset with me about something. Am I right?”

“Well… yeah.” Sasuke sighed. “First of all, how could you put your life in the hands of Naruto? You may believe that he will become a great shinobi one day, but he’s not one _now._ ”

“Would you have me rather put my live in your hands?” Sakura asked, feeling that she already knew what the boy had been feeling. He had felt like the third wheel during their last fight.

“I… yes.” He said and looked at her with determination. Sakura could feel a blush starting on her ears, but forced it to fade away almost instantly. “It was a truly reckless thing to do. When faced with a strong enemy, we have to play our cards right. It was not the best plan to leave me to stand aside to watch over Tazuna and go on a suicidal attempt with the dobe.”

“Sasuke.” Sakura looked at him in the eyes with kind determination. “Know that I trust you as much as I do Naruto. I just wanted to give him the chance to believe in his own worth and strength as a shinobi. I’m sorry if I made you feel left out and I promise that I will try to not do that again. We’ll try to work together next time, ok? But you have to believe in Naruto too… after all, everything turned out just right, didn’t it?”

“That’s the second issue. Your head was almost _severed_ from your body during that plan of yours.” Sasuke growled at her and combed his spiky hair with his hand. “You cannot put your life on the line like that. We could’ve figured out a different way to beat Zabuza.”

“It was not that close. I had everything under control.” she stubbornly said and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Wasn’t it?” he raised and arm and took a hold of one of the short bangs of hair on the back of her head. Sakura had to fight the warm tingling feeling from spreading through her body and the urge to lean into his hand. “Look at this. On this spot, your hair is only a couple centimeters long.”

“I…” Sakura felt light-headed as she looked at Sasuke’s serious face, which was only a couple palms away from her own. He had stepped closer than he normally would’ve in order to hold her hair. “I’m sorry. But if I hadn’t done that, Naruto would’ve died and you know it.”

“I know.” Sasuke said and watched her intently for a couple seconds longer. He finally sighed and allowed his hand to fall back to his side. “Do you not mind that your hair got cut so much? It used to be pretty long.”

“Well… I was planning on cutting it myself anyways. It can get in the way during battle and could put all of us in danger.” She smiled softly as she remembered how she had been held down by her hair during the chuunin exams in her previous life. “So, Zabuza actually did me a favor… kind of.”

Sasuke chuckled at her statement. “It’s pretty uneven, though. Do you want me to even it out for you?”

“You… would really do that?” Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach at the mere thought of Sasuke doing such a thing for her. He raised an eyebrow at her – clearly not understanding what she was feeling so flustered about – and nodded. She managed to find her voice and somehow spoke with a straight nonchalant tone. “All right.”

Sakura quietly turned her back to Sasuke and sat down on the floor in front of him. She heard him sit behind her and take out a kunai out of his pouch. His hands slowly took hold of her longer strands of hair and cut them to a matching length. Sakura had expected him to be quick and firm while doing such a thing, but she was surprised that he wasn’t; his fingers were unexpectedly careful and soft, making sure to do it properly and to avoid pulling at the strands. Sakura closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of his hands working on her hair. It had been such a long time since she’d felt this relaxed and at ease. After a while she remembered something.

“Hey, Sasuke?” She called with her eyes still closed, with an almost slurred voice.

“Hn.” If he noticed how her voice had changed, he didn’t say anything.

“Happy birthday.”

“You knew?” the surprise was slightly recognizable in his voice and in the fact that his hand movements stopped.

“Yeah. Finally thirteen, huh?”

“Hn. Thank you.”

 _No Sasuke –_ Sakura smiled as his hands started softly moving on the back of her head - _thank you._

 

 

**A/N: There it is. This chapter didn’t have any action at all,  but its importance relied on Sakura and Sasuke’s interactions.**

**Also, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed of followed! I hope that you are enjoying the story. Please let me know what you think of it!**

**Next chapter will be the final battle against Zabuza! Look forward to it!**


	9. Wave Mission III

** CHPATER 9 **

A complete massacre had happened on the bridge. The place was in complete silence and there was no movement at all. On the ground, amongst the mess that were the tool and logs, lied Tazuna’s workers. Dead and surrounded by pools of blood.

“What happened here?” Tazuna’s voice stuttered in shock. His eyes seemed torn between fear for his life and grief for his dead workers. The four of them – Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna himself - stood frozen in the spot for a couple moments. Suddenly a thick fog started spreading out of nowhere.

“This is…” Sasuke whispered with an edge to his voice.

“Zabuza’s fog… the one he uses for assassination.” Kakashi’s low voice finished. “Surround Tazuna!”

“Ahhhh… Kakashi. I see you still keep those brats around you.” Zabuza’s voice sounded from somewhere in the mist as the leaf shinobi made a circle around their client. “Look at that one… he’s trembling in fear.”

“I’m trembling… because I’m excited.” Sasuke smirked and gripped at his kunai, clearly looking forwards to making up for his previous lack of action. He immediately launched at Zabuza’s clones, which had gotten dangerously close to the four of them. He dispelled them with no effort at all.

“Ohh… he saw right through my clones. Haku, it seems you’ve found a worthy opponent.” Zabuza said, appearing from the mist, next to a masked boy.

“So, it was indeed a farce. The hunter nin story that you sold us.” Kakashi glared at the pair. “You’ve been keeping him safe all this time.”

“I have.” Haku answered with his usual calm and collected voice.

“Enough talk. I’ll get rid of that coward who hides behind a mask like a clown.” Sasuke growled and crouched a bit, readying himself for battle. Haku swirled around in the air as he approached them and Sasuke jumped at him, their kunai clashing.

“Sakura. Stay with the bridge builder.” Kakashi commanded and she nodded, moving to stand in front of him. The silver-haired jonin moved closer to Zabuza in order to prevent him from getting closer to the rest of the team.

Sasuke jumped at Haku once again and tried to stab him on the shoulder, but his attack was blocked by Haku’s senbon. Haku jumped back and threw senbon as Sasuke, who deflected the attack with his kunai and smirked. He then threw a barricade of shuriken at his opponent, forcing him to jump backwards a good five meters.

“You’re pretty fast.” Haku acknowledged and Sasuke smugly smirked, his Uchiha pride taking over.

“You bet.” Without wasting another second, Sasuke rushed towards him and they clashed their kunai. The raven-haired boy kicked Haku on the gut and he was thrown back. The masked nin launched at Sasuke, their weapons meeting with once again. While their weapons were blocking each others attacks, Haku raised his free hand.

“Now that you’re blocking my senbon, you can’t escape.” He said and started forming seals with only one hand, which surprised everyone. “Makyō Hyōshō!”

Sasuke’s eyes were wide as he was surrounded by numerous ice mirrors, which trapped him inside a dome. Sakura had decided to stay close in case that she was needed, dragging Tazuna behind her, and gasped at the sight; she had never seen _this_ in her previous life, since she had stayed away from the fight. She frowned, knowing that this jutsu meant trouble, and decided that she would step into the battle only if needed.

Haku moved closer to a mirror and stepped _into_ it, appearing inside as a mere reflection of himself. Sasuke eyes darted from once mirror to another in concern, noting that every mirror was showing Haku’s image and not knowing where the real one was.

“Now we’ll start the real fight and I will show what real speed is.” The Hakus on the mirrors spoke and raised their hands to throw senbon at Sasuke.

“Aghhh!” Sasuke winced as he looked around, trying to guess where the attacks were coming from in vain.

He tried to run out of the mirror dome, but was stopped by some sort of invisible field that pushed him back inside. Haku’s attacks were so fast that Sakura couldn’t see them and only was aware that they’d happened when Sasuke got injured. Numerous attacks were thrown at him, cutting him on his whole body. For some reason, the masked ninja was not aiming for Sasuke’s vital spots, but that didn’t make the situation any better. Sakura nervously looked over to where Kakashi was, seeing that he had already unveiled his sharingan and was watching the fight too. She couldn’t fight and be a real asset as long as her sensei was watching, because he would immediately notice how much stronger she really was. She quietly decided to stay out of the fight and step in only if it got too dangerous. After all, everything had gone just right without her interference the last time, right?

“Ahhhh!” Sasuke screamed once again and dropped to the ground, his body constantly being slashed by senbon. He had not been able to dodge any one attack and his body was now starting to become slightly heavier.

Sakura closed her eyes tightly and felt her hands tremble. How had this fight developed last time? Had Naruto interfered? Had Sasuke done something different? Was he going to _die_ this time? At this rate, she would have to step into the fight with Kakashi watching. That would mean that she’d be completely exposed and that her sensei, in the end, would have to inform the Hokage of her abilities. Obviously, that would lead to interrogation and the council finding out about Sasuke’s future actions against Konoha. Sakura would risk Sasuke’s freedom anytime for his life, but it didn’t make her feel any better. She had to _try_ one last resort before all of that.

“Kakashi-sensei!” she screamed. “Hurry up with Zabuza and help Sasuke!”

Kakashi’s eyes hardened and he nodded once at her. He turned to his opponent and they started swirling and twisting in the air. As their weapons met, they slowly got out of Sakura’s sight and away from the mirror dome. Sakura sighed in relief when they were far enough. _Thank goodness!_ Now she would be able to fight with a higher fraction of her strength – not at all close to her full force, though - knowing that Sasuke wouldn’t be able to tell due to his lack of experience.

“Tazuna-san. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to step into the fight. There’s no way I’ll be able to protect you _and_ fight if Sasuke loses.”

“I wouldn’t stop you, Sakura. Go on, protect your friend!” Tazuna ushered her to join Sasuke in the fight.

Sakura didn’t waste another second and ran towards where the mirror dome was. She lowered her hand into her weapon pouch and threw a kunai at the mirror. However, and to her dismay, Haku leaned out of the mirror and caught her weapon with his hand.

“That was a strong throw.” Haku noted. “Too bad I _will_ catch it every time.”

Sakura frowned and watched as Haku entered the mirror once again, piecing Sasuke’s barely recovering body once again. She walked around and aimed another kunai towards another mirror, with the same result. Should she use her chakra enhanced strength to break the mirror? It would definitely make Sasuke suspicious. Her mind went on overdrive as she watched him fall on his knees once again. How was she supposed to win this fight and keep her secret safe? Not only for her sake, but for his own.

“Sasuke!” she yelled at him from outside of the dome. “Let’s attack at the same time!”

Sasuke nodded and moved his arm to grab another kunai, but was stopped when Haku threw his senbon once again. He didn’t make a noise, but his expression was pained as he fell to the ground once more. Sakura cursed under her breath. Maybe they would be able to break the mirrors if they attacked from the inside and the outside simultaneously. However, they wouldn’t be able to do so unless someone else distracted Haku. _Where is Naruto when we need him!_

“I-I cannot lose. I promised myself I’d live until I found my brother.” Sasuke growled, his eyes hidden behind his bangs. “I promised I’d be strong enough and avenge my clan.”

“You clearly don’t understand the true source of strength. When a person has something important they want to protect, that’s when they can become truly strong.” Haku readied his senbon. “Now, it seems that I will have to finish this quickly.”

It was at that moment when Sakura became aware of two different things. First of all, Haku had decided to finish the fight quickly because she had previously realized the weakness to his jutsu; attacking from both sides of the mirrors. Secondly, this meant that he was going to finish off Sasuke within his next couple moves. Sasuke widened his eyes, clearly knowing what was going to happen and his eyes locked with hers. Sakura almost cried at the deep emotion and unexpected fear that she found in them – she had been used to a cold and collected Sasuke during battles. In the blink of an eye, she made a decision; she would step into the dome and help Sasuke however she could until Naruto arrived. If the blonde didn’t get there in time, she’d have to use her chakra enhanced strength.

“Sasuke!” Sakura screamed as she ran into the dome at full speed and stepped right next to a panting Sasuke.

The war had not only developed a good ability as a sensor, but she had also heightened her overall senses and instincts. So, even though she couldn’t see Haku’s attack, she _felt_ it as it neared them. Sakura quickly pushed Sasuke out of harm’s way and the senbon barely missed her back, getting stuck on the floor.

“Idiot! Why are you here?!” Sasuke turned around and screamed at her in rage. “Now we’re both going to die!”

“What was I supposed to do, watch you die?!” Sakura retorted. “Besides, I can feel his attacks as they approach _and_ I can do this.”

Sakura put her palms on Sasuke’s shoulder and thigh, where his worse wounds were. Sasuke widened his eyes as she pushed her healing chakra into his deepest wounds, stopping the bleeding in just a couple seconds. She had moved her hands to two other wounds and started healing him once again, when Haku’s voice was heard again.

“It seems I’ll have to increase my speed.”

Sakura jerked at the feeling of senbon cutting through the air at incredible speed and pulled Sasuke away by his hand once more. She flinched when a senbon pierced her thigh and turned to her enemy once again. If this was the speed at which the attacks were going to come from now once, she might not be able to dodge them all. After all, her senses only managed to grasp the attack as it was about to connect. Sakura felt Sasuke’s hand tighten around her own and she stepped closer to him. She silently put one of his arms over her shoulders and she her arm around his torso. He looked down at her from the corner of his eyes, seemingly a little uncomfortable by his current predicament. Nonetheless, he understood that such a position was necessary for her to properly move him away. Another wave of senbon came their way and Sakura pushed Sasuke around, but it only allowed them to dodge part of the attack. Both of them got pierced by senbon on their arms, but it was far better than getting injured on their torso. Haku attacked once more and Sakura moved them away from the attack, but another couple senbon cut into them.

Suddenly, the masked nin started attacking from different mirrors so frequently, that it was almost a continuous rain of needles. Sakura trained and sharp analytical mind went through their circumstances in the blink of an eye. She concluded that Haku must’ve been running out of chakra – she had known that such a jutsu had to be really draining - and had decided use a lot of strength all at once. It was a smart move, seeing as Sakura couldn’t move the both of them at such great speed. There were currently two choices; leave Sasuke to get hurt by those senbon and launch a chakra enhanced attack at the mirrors – which would lead to bad consequences later on. She’d need to break all of the mirrors before going back to her teammate and it would give Haku enough time to gravely injure him. What if she didn’t manage to heal him in time? Sakura wasn’t sure how much she could do without releasing the power of her seal. The second option was to protect Sasuke until Haku ran out of chakra and heal her injuries as they came. It would allow Sasuke to find an opening to finish destroy the mirrors and, if he didn’t find a way, she’d be able to crush them after properly healing her body. Sakura decided that the second one was the safest option for the both of them and it held the least risk to expose her abilities.

“Ha!” Sakura jumped at Sasuke, forcing him on the ground, and leaned over him.

“Hey! What are you-” Sasuke was going to ask, but then realized that she was receiving all of the attacks in his stead and his eyes widened. "Sakura! Don’t be stupid! Get off me!" He tried to throw her off him, but Sakura swiftly caught his forearms and slammed them back on the ground, one on each side of his head.

"Sorry." Sakura tried to strain a smile, but only managed to wince. She allowed a tiny amount of chakra into her small hands; she knew that if she didn’t Sasuke would break free of her hold in no time. His raw strength was, after all, much higher than her own. Sakura quickly checked her own situation and found that, by now, there had to be at least a dozen senbon sticking into her. She closed her eyes and sent healing chakra into her body as fast as she could. The first priority was to protect her vital organs and her systems. The second priority was to slow down the bleeding as much as she could. Sakura was so engrossed in her ministrations that she was completely oblivious to the teen she was looming over.

"Sakura! Don't do this!" Sasuke called another time and tried once again to break free from her hold. _When the fuck did she get so strong?_ Sasuke kept on trying to get her attention, but she kept her eyes closed even as more senbon were thrown at her. "Hey! Look at me!"

Sasuke panicked when a thick drop of her blood landed next to her nose. He saw the deep concentration along with the frown face and frowned in confusion. Was she trying to hide her pain from him? It was ridiculous! She was going to die! _She_ , Sakura, was going to die protecting _him_ , Uchiha Sasuke. He would never be able to forgive himself if that happened! He felt his heartbeat go crazy as he saw more needles flashing through the air towards Sakura.

_No, stop. I have to stop them. I have to. I have to._

Sasuke was practically trembling from the mind rushing anxiety, but then he noticed something weird. Suddenly, the course of the attacks were as _clear_ as day for him. He could even see Haku launching the attack and he was certain that he even knew how long he had to dodge or deflect the attack. He immediately connected the dots and knew that he had finally awakened his dojutsu. He widened his crimson eyes as another wave of needles pierced Sakura on the back. Sasuke moved his hands in an attempt to break free, but Sakura wasn’t allowing him any movement.

“Damn it, Sakura! Look at me!” he yelled and jerked his head upwards, forcefully hitting Sakura’s forehead with his own.

“Ah!” Sakura opened his eyes, surprised at the unexpected pain that came from the front of her body. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see blazing sharingan. She widened her eyes in surprise and let go of his forearms.

Sasuke immediately surrounded her body with his arms and moved them away from the attack, effectively dodging all of the needles. He moved her behind him to have her lean on his back, put her arms around his shoulder and held her up from under her thighs. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as her carefully watched the attacks that were going to be thrown at them. It was amazing that he would tell what the attacks’ course was going to be just before it was launched. He swiftly dodged all of the attacks one after the other as he held Sakura up on a piggy back ride. Slowly, the attacks became slower and slower, to the point where Sasuke figured that maybe his sharingan wouldn’t be necessary anymore. Suddenly, Haku’s attacks stopped and he simply stood in his mirrors, watching them cautiously.

“Sakura, he’s slowing down! We have to think of a plan now!” he smirked at the newly acquired advantage. He waited for her answer but she kept quiet and still on his back. “Sakura! Hey!”

“Get ‘em off.” Sakura groaned.

“Hn.” Sasuke immediately understood what she needed and he lay Sakura down on her stomach. He quickly started pulling the needles off her back and dropping them with a _clank_ on the floor. He looked over at Haku, who for some reason had decided to give them some space. It was as if he was allowing them a moment, as if something important was about to happen. As if she was going to… _No._ He understood then why Haku had stopped attacking. There were so many needles on her back and they had pierced her so deeply, that Sasuke felt a tight knot build in his throat as he came to the realization. There was no way she could survive such injuries and Haku knew that too. Sakura moaned in pain every time he pulled one of the needles out of her. He finished taking out the last one and, with eyes that expressed a deep sorrow, he spoke with a soft whisper. “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

Sakura almost laughed at the irony of his words, but only a strained sound was produced by her throat. She started sending healing chakra – what was left of it – towards her more serious wounds to stop the bleeding. Her back, her hair and her legs were drenched in blood and she could already feel a little lightheaded from to loss of it. She was about to open her mouth and tell Sasuke that she was going to be all right, when another voice echoed inside the mirror dome.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto ran towards the dome, but was stopped by his male teammate.

“Stop! Stay out of the dome or we will all be doomed!”

“W-What happened to Sakura-chan?” the blonde’s voice broke and Sakura could only wonder how she looked like. A couple seconds passed without answer and Naruto snapped. “Sasuke! Tell me! What happened? Why… Why didn’t you protect her!?”

“I… took too long. I was too weak.” Sasuke’s voice trembled right next to Sakura and she felt her heart break. She was going to open her mouth, but she was interrupted again _._

“Bastard! I’m going to fucking kill you as soon as we’re finished here! You’re supposed to look after your teammates!” Naruto yelled in fury.

“I tried to! And look who’s talking! You weren’t even here to help us!” Sasuke snarled in a low voice right next to Sakura.

“Stop!” she shakily pushed her body upwards with her hands, forcing her aching muscles to work once again, and looked up to her teammates. She watched the hopeful expressions of both boys as they turned to look at her, but they were immediately replaced by shame as she spoke again with a trembling voice. “Why? Why do you always do this? And I’m _always_ stuck in the middle of it all! Now, look at this! We might die today and all you do is keep on fighting! The _both_ of you are responsible for the lack our teamwork! _None_ of you have really put effort into changing that dynamic for real! Your childish bickering is going to get us killed!”

Sakura’s voice broke at the end of the sentence and her body dropped back to the floor. She supported her weight on her forearms and her head hung low. Her heart ached at the thought that not even in _this_ situation Sasuke and Naruto had managed to put their fighting aside. If they lived longer than this day and their behavior went on up to the chuunin exams, they might all get killed by either Orochimaru or another team. If this went on, Sasuke would get the cursed mark and everything would go down the same fucked up road once again. Sakura only realized that she was crying when she saw tears dropping to the ground beneath her. A warm hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up to meet Sasuke’s sharingan.

“You’re right.” He acknowledged and then he averted his eyes before speaking again. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto yelled from the outside. “Things will be different from now on! Believe it! Right, Sasuke?”

“They will.” Sasuke locked eyes with her once again. He then stood up and turned around to face the blonde. “Naruto! Make 10 clones and have them all attack the same mirror from the outside, while I do it from the inside. We have to make the hit simultaneously!”

“You got it! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

Sakura was not on good shape, but she was feeling well enough to give them a hand in the fight if needed. She was not at all surprised that Sasuke had figured out the jutsu’s weakness as well. In a puff of smoke, a dozen Naruto’s appeared and cheered. They all charged at one of the mirrors and Sasuke mirrored their actions. Haku tried to pierce Sasuke with senbon, but his dojutsu read each one of his attacks and dodged or blocked with ease. Sakura watched with anticipation as they all connected a hit with the mirror at the exact same time; Naruto’s clones had punched the mirror while Sasuke had used a kunai and stabbed it from the inside. They all stepped away from the mirror as it cracked from the center to the edge and finally broke into a thousand pieces.

“Yes!” Naruto smiled.

“Good job, dobe.” Sasuke smirked from inside of the dome.

Haku realized that he was on a tight spot and started throwing more senbon towards Sasuke – who was still inside the dome – in an almost desperate manner. Nonetheless, the Uchiha flawlessly dodged all of his needles and punched another mirror at the same time as Naruto did. It shattered once again. Sakura smiled as she watched both boys work in synch as if it were second nature to them. One minute later, over half the mirrors were already broken. Haku seemed to realize that there was no point in keeping his chakra draining jutsu anymore and he dispelled it. He landed on the floor soundlessly and jumped away from his opponents.

“Arghh!” Sasuke launched at him, trying to kick him in the shin, but Haku blocked his attack and punched him away.

Naruto went straight towards the masked boy and started throwing kicks and punches. Haku blocked them all, once again, and jumped at Sasuke. Both boys got into a taijutsu battle with him, but he kept up to their attacks. Even though he was more experienced and older than them, Sakura was surprised at how tight the fight was. He was most certainly going through chakra depletion due to how long he had kept his kekkei genkai going. Naruto made another dozen clones and they all went to attack Haku at the same time. Sasuke took out a fuuma shuriken and threw it at great speed towards the masked boy. Haku jumped in the air, twisting his body around as he blocked the clones’ attacks and dodged Sasuke’s oversized weapon. However, Naruto was right above him as he did and threw a strong punch at his face. Haku was not fast enough to completely dodge it, and the blonde’s fist kicked his mask away.

“W-what? It’s you! The boy from the forest!” Naruto’s eyes widened. “You were the one who was helping Zabuza all along? You gotta be kidding me!”

“I am.” Haku said and stopped moving when he saw that Sasuke had stood still too.

“You seemed like a kind person to me! How could you possibly be helping a tyrant!” Naruto demanded.

“I’ve decided to dedicate my live to someone dear to me. I doesn’t matter what he’s asking of me, I will do my best to help him and protect him.” Haku answered.

Sakura’s eyes widened at the sight of the boy’s face and the memories that came rushing to her. With all the issues surrounding Sasuke and Naruto these past days she had _completely_ forgotten that this boy had a good heart. And he was going to _die._ How could she have not thought of a way to help him?

Suddenly, a loud chirping noise sounded around the mist and there was electricity in the air. It was Kakashi’s raikiri. Haku’s eyes widened, knowing that a lethal attack was about to be delivered on his most important person, his only family.

“I’ll willingly die if it means saving the life of someone important to me.” He smiled. “Just like your friend did. I’m sorry about her.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto’s confused voice was lower than usual, but his question went without answer.

It didn’t surprise Sakura that Haku thought she had died; no one should be able to sustain such a great amount of damage and live. It was good that she wasn’t anybody when it came to healing abilities. Haku closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his remaining chakra and strength, and then flashed out of there. Sakura’s eyes widened at the knowledge that he already had, once again, lost his life. And she had done _nothing_ about it. She had forgotten about who he really was and it had resulted in his death. A deep sense of guilt engulfed the pink-haired girl and she allowed her body to drop back to the ground.

“No…” Sakura mumbled and closed her eyes tightly. A couple seconds later, she heard quick footsteps nearing.

“Sakura!” Sasuke’s unexpectedly worried voice was clear in the mist.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto arrived next to her with her raven-haired teammate. She felt his calloused hand take hold of her smaller one. “Sakura-chan…”

“I-I’m all right.” Sakura slightly lifted her body and turned to meet her friends’ faces.

“You’re alive… how? You were... those attacks…” Sasuke said with wide eyes.

“I… kind of healed the live-threatening damage.” Sakura’s eyes softened at the sight of her team in front of her; relief was written all over their faces.

Their attention was diverted once again when, suddenly, Kakashi was next to them while holding Haku, who had been pierced by his raikiri right through the chest. He let the boy down and jumped away from Zabuza, who was jumping at him with his sword. Kakashi twisted around at enormous speed, landed behind Zabuza and caught a hold of his neck. He was about to deliver the finishing blow, but then Gato appeared out of nowhere with an army of thugs behind him. Everything happened the same way it had the last time, and Zabuza massacred most of them along with Gato. He sustained a great amount of damage and dropped to the ground half dead, his eyes regretful of Haku’s death. Just when the rest of the thugs were having thoughts of finishing the fight, Inari came to the bridge with most of the inhabitants of the town, who were armed with spears and masts. They all scurried down from the bridge and into a boat, leaving the place for good. As the whole town cheered, Sakura felt Sasuke crouch next to her.

“Come on, let’s get you some rest.” He said as put one of her arms over his shoulder to pull her to a standing position.

“Let me help, too!” Naruto was on her other side the next second and he put her other arm over his shoulders.

Sakura wasn’t really feeling that bad – she had, after all, healed most of the real damage – and figured that she’d be able to walk all the way to Tazuna’s house no problem. However, as she felt both her teammates arms around her form, she had to keep quiet about that fact. The warmth that emitted from their bodies was surrounding her body in a lulling manner. Also, the peaceful quiet between the three of them was something she’d never felt before – not even in their previous life. Until now, both boys had not gotten along and she had been the third wheel in her past life. However, at this moment, the three of them were on par, on equal terms. There was a sense of bonding that she had never felt before. The relief Sakura felt with it was overwhelming, warmth uncontrollably spreading though her chest.

“Finally, guys! We can now call ourselves a _team_!” Sakura beamed and laughed honestly, in joy. Her arms tightened around her friends’ necks, bringing them closer to her and making them slightly lean their heads on her shoulders. Naruto loudly laughed along with her, as was expected of him. On the other hand, Sasuke simply smiled a bit, but there was a sense of warmth in his eyes. They didn’t voice it aloud, but Sakura was certain that they agreed with her.

It had been such a _long_ time since Sakura had felt this happy.

 

**A/N: So, this was the final part of the Wave Mission. I hope that you guys enjoyed the changed I made to it! As per usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.**


	10. Worries

** CHAPTER 10 **

Sakura had always been the first one to arrive to wherever she was supposed to meet with her team. Long ago, she’d decided to use the waiting time to rest a bit from her ritual morning training. Two days after getting back to Konoha from the Land of Waves, team 7 was supposed to meet at the usual spot; the bridge. However, when Sakura got there, she saw that she was not the first one to arrive. Leaning on the old wooden railing and looking down at the stream was an unusually early Sasuke. Sakura hadn’t seen him since their return, since they’d been allowed some resting time, and she quickly assessed his well-being. She decided that he seemed healthy and sighed in relief. After the final battle, the rest of her team had stubbornly refused to allow her to heal anybody aside from herself. She had been a bit annoyed by their overprotectiveness but, at the same time, felt a little guilty for making them worry so much. Nonetheless, no matter how much she worried, there was no way that she could just go and tell them ‘Oh, no worries, I’m almost immortal and can heal practically every wound inflicted to my body’.

“Sakura.” Sasuke turned his head towards her in greeting.

“Hey, Sasuke. You’re early.” she smiled and Sasuke nodded at her.

Sakura came to a stop next to him and leaned on the railing as well. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, and she decided that the silence between them was uncommonly tense. She wondered what was on his mind and if something had happened to him during the past days that she hadn’t seen him. After ten or twenty minutes, she decided to break the stillness. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m as good as new.” Sasuke answered quickly and waved his hand in a quick dismissal for his own situation. He then observed her from head to toe with a furrowed eyebrow. “How are _you_ feeling? Did your wounds heal properly?”

“Yeah. I managed to heal most of the damage, so the medics at the hospital had little work to do.” Sakura tried to reassure him. _That was the subject on his mind, huh?_

“Did you sustain any internal damage? I’m sure that those attacks must’ve pierced at least a couple organs.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I healed them myself, so there was no need to make any tests or anything.”

“Are you kidding me?” Sasuke frowned and put his hand on his hip. “Why can’t you care a bit more about your own health?”

“Sasuke, really there’s nothing to worry about.” She nodded her head, trying to reassure him.

“No, Sakura. You don’t know that. You have to get tested.” Sasuke took a step closer to her, getting a bit closer.

“Er… all right.” Sakura said, knowing that she wouldn’t do it. She was the best medic around, for god’s sakes. “I’ll do it.”

“I’ll go with you.” He sternly said and Sakura raised her eyebrows in question. “I can tell you’re not really convinced about going and I want to make sure you do it.”

“Okaaaay.” Sakura sighed and then leaned over the railing and supported her head on her hand. She watched how the sun reflected on the water as a couple leaves floated on top of it.

“Hey.” Sasuke’s voice was so quiet, that she almost didn’t hear him. She turned her head and looked at him in the eye, noting that he looked somehow uncomfortable. “You.. I mean… why?”

“Why?” Sakura tilted her head and Sasuke was clearly troubled by her lack of understanding, because he turned his head away from her. “Why what?”

“Back then. You almost died because of me… you could’ve certainly saved yourself, but you decided to take a risk to keep me safe. Why did you do it?” Sasuke’s voice was almost a whisper and she could only wonder what face he was making.

“I…” Sakura didn’t know what to say and remained quiet for a couple moments. First of all, she was sure she would be able to heal. Secondly, the reason was simple. _Because I love you._ “Because you’re my teammate and I care about you. We’re supposed to look after each other, right? Besides, I was sure everything would turn out just fine.”

“You…” Sasuke turned to look at her with slightly wide eyes, taken aback about her honesty about her emotions. However, he quickly covered his shock and cleared his throat. “You didn’t _know_ that. If I hadn’t awakened my sharingan…”

“But you did.” Sakura smiled. “And everything’s all right now, isn’t it?”

“How can you…” Sasuke closed his eyes and passed a hand through his hair. He sighed in surrender and then looked at her firmly once again. “We’ll only be sure about that once you’ve gotten tested.”

 “Hai, hai.”

After another couple minutes of silence, there were quick steps on the bridge. Sakura and Sasuke looked to their right and saw a running Naruto.

“Hey, guys!” Naruto smiled and waved his hand.

“Hey, Naruto.”

“Dobe.” Sasuke greeted him with a small smirk.

“I’m sorry I’m a bit late, but there was a huge queue at Ichiraku’s.” Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head and then proceeded to complain about how he’d had to wait over twenty minutes for his so called breakfast - Sakura really couldn’t agree to call ramen breakfast.

Surprisingly, Kakashi arrived only five minutes after Naruto had, which was only 20 minutes late. They all proceeded to train for the whole morning, practicing their general taijutsu and weapon abilities. When noon came, Kakashi announced that they would have a special exercise at three sharp at the same training ground they were in. After their sensei left, team 7 proceeded to go grab lunch at Ichiraku’s – Naruto had insisted on it.

“So-” Naruto started as he slurped his second bowl of ramen. “Whaw daya guys thwink the spwecial exswsice phil be?”

“Don’t be gross, dobe.” Sasuke reprimanded at his lack of manners.

“I don’t know.” Sakura thought for a moment. “Maybe a teamwork practice?”

“It would make sense.” Sasuke nodded. “We haven’t been exactly working as a team until now.”

“Ha! We’ll show him! Right, team?” Naruto grinned in a cheerful manner and then proceeded to stuff his mouth with food once again.

“Yeah.” Sakura smiled and then looked at her empty bowl. She noticed that Sasuke was finished too and that Naruto was almost done. “We still have some time to kill. You guys want to go check out the new weapon shop that opened up across the street?”

“What weapon shop?” Naruto raised his eyebrows.

“You’ll see when we get there.” Sasuke said and each paid for their own meal.

“What are we waiting for! Come on!” Naruto cheered and placed the money for his food on the table.

Sasuke and Sakura followed his example and stood up, following him out of the food stand. However, as Naruto rushed out of the shop, he crashed on someone and violently fell to the ground.

“Oof.” He rubbed the back of his head and then looked up.

“Well, what do we have here? Another clumsy konoha shinobi? The level of shinobi in this village keeps impressing me – and not in a good way.” Said an older teen dressed in black and with red markings on his face. Sakura immediately recognized him as Kankuro, and was about to stop Naruto from bursting out.

“AAHHHH? Who the hell are you and how _dare_ you look down on our village?” Naruto growled, stood up hastily and pointed a finger at the unknown person. “I can show you how good we are any time, jerk!”

“Tch. A brat like you should know its place.” Kankuro retorted. Sakura saw Temari and Gaara appear from behind him and stand on both sides of him.

“You three are not Konoha shinobi.” Sasuke pointed at Kankuro’s forehead protector. “Why are you here?”

“We’re here for the chuunin exams, obviously.” Kankuro pointed out.

“Huh? Chuuhin exams?” Naruto was clearly confused, since he had never heard about that.

“It’s not a surprise that you don’t know about it, brat.” Kankuro smirked. “You will probably be a gennin all of your life.”

“Shut up!” Naruto growled, a bit embarrassed.

“Naruto!” Sakura finally intervened and took a firm hold of her blond friend’s wrist. “Don’t pick a fight!”

“Huh? It’s not my fault!”

“What’s wrong, pinky?” Kankuro retorted and smirked at her in despise. “You afraid?”

“No, I’m not.” Sakura said and threw him a sharp glare. She knew that Kankuro would grow up to be a good and careful man one day, but right now she couldn’t help be pissed at his childish and reckless behavior. “It’s not smart to pick up fights with local shinobi on a foreign village.”

“Are you saying I’m stupid?” Kankuro returned her glare and moved a hand to grab her arm, but was intercepted by Sasuke. He glared at him as his squeezed the nin’s arm.

“Stop, both of you.” Sakura let go of Naruto and moved to stand between the other two shinobi. She took hold of both shinobi’s arms in an iron hold and tightened her small hands around them. Her hold was so strong, that both teens winced and were forced to retreat their hands. She let go of Sasuke’s arm but kept her hand firmly around Kankuro’s. She turned her whole body to face him and looked him in the eyes with determination. “I know that you are shinobi from Suna. Your village and ours have had a hard time maintaining some minimum diplomacy. It’s taken great effort from both our Kage’s and it would be greatly disrespectful to destroy all of their work. Especially if it’s such childish bickering. Naruto, apologize for bumping into him.”

“Huh? But he-” he answered Sakura, who was still keeping her gaze locked on the Suna nin.

“ _Apologize._ ” She repeated with a strict voice that allowed no questioning.

“I’m sorry.” Naruto mumbled, not happy at all for having to apologize to such an arrogant person.

“If you think I will apologize to any of you, you can go fuck yourself.” Kankuro snorted and raised his head to literally look down at Sakura.

“Kankuro.” Gaara’s voice sounded and his demonic bloodlust filled the whole athmosphere. “Let go of it now, or I’ll kill you.”

“R-right.” Kankuro shrunk and lowered his head.

Everybody stood still in fear and Sakura took the chance to let go of Kankuro’s wrist. She then turned to look at Gaara in the eye and forced herself to keep a straight face. She’d grown quite fond of the man in the future and was a bit saddened seeing him like this. Gaara’s bloodlust was strong and it would terrify almost every shinobi, but Sakura didn’t even flinch at it. After all, she’d been in the presence of the Kyuubi numerous times _and_ had battled the Juubi.

“Please excuse us for the inconvenience.” She said with a straight voice and without breaking eye contact with him. “I hope that relations between our villages continue to prosper.”

“I second that.” Gaara said with slight surprise. That small pink haired girl had held his gaze as he released his bloodlust and hadn’t even cringed. She bowed her head in a respectful manner and was about to turn away when he stopped her with a commanding voice. “Wait. Tell me your name.”

“Haruno Sakura. What about you?”

“Gaara.” He said curtly. He then looked at his team and jerked his head, motioning for them to leave.

Temari looked at Sakura briefly and faintly smiled at her before leaving. Sakura returned the smile and was reminded of how close she would become to all of them. When the Team Seven was left alone on the street once again, Sasuke and Naruto relaxed a bit.

“Sakura-chan! That was great! How could you even look at that guy in the eye? He was terrifying!”

“That doesn’t matter. Naruto, you should’ve been more responsible.” Sakura reprimanded him.

“You pick up a fight with another village about nonsense and yet you want to be Hokage.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Let’s just go meet Kakashi already.”

Naruto’s eyes widened at Sasuke’s words, knowing that he was spot on, and he remained quiet the rest of the way. When they got to the training ground, they were surprised to see Team 10 sitting around. Sakura immediately approached Ino and waved.

“Ino!”

“Forehead!” Ino smiled and ran to meet her half way. “We haven’t met for almost two weeks. Where have you been?”

“We were on a mission on the Land of Waves and just got back a couple days ago.”

“Oh.” Ino’s eyes trailed over to Sasuke and she got closer to Sakura so that she could whisper in her ear. “So you spent two whole weeks with Sasuke, huh? Did you learn something new about him? Did he say anything about me?”

“He told me he loved you and wanted to set up a date to meet for a romantic dinner at Ichiraku’s.” Sakura mocked her and rolled her eyes.

“Agh! Don’t mock me!” Ino slapped her on the nape. “Besides, a romantic dinner would _need_ to be at a real restaurant, not something petty like instant ramen. That’s something probably _Naruto_ would do.”

“Probably. That sounds a lot like him.” Sakura smiled to herself and decided that, whoever Naruto chose to date, she would have to put up with such things. Actually, those were the kind of things that made him so unique.

“Sakura.”

“Hey, Shikamaru. Choji.” Sakura smiled at the two newcomers and they greeted back. Soon they were joined by Sasuke and Naruto and, finally, by Asuma. Kakashi, as usual, was the last one to arrive.

“Hello, my dear students!” Kakashi said as he stepped out of the smoke of his transportation jutsu. “How are you doing?”

“You’re late, sensei!” Naruto complained. “You’ll make us look bad!”

“Oh, I’m sorry guys. I just stepped into a weird hole on the ground and fell on it. I ended up on the other side of the-”

“Keep it, sensei. Don’t we have an exercise to do?” Sakura interrupted him with a twitching eyebrow.

“Oh, yeah. Asuma, will you do the honors?” he said yawning and stretched backwards to lean on a tree. Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes at his antics. _Lazy as always._

“All right. You know that one on one spars are good enough to test and improve your individual abilities and that we do that all the time. So, to change our routine a bit and in view that we only seldom have this opportunity to improve our work as a unit, each team will be working together and try to defeat the other one. However, the main tactic should not be a straight spar or battle. Instead, you are expected to mostly rely on your analytical and strategic abilities as well as your teamwork.” Asuma stopped for a moment and looked around to make sure there were no doubts.

“Asuma-sensei.” Choji scratched his cheek. “Why aren’t we supposed to use our battle abilities? We are shinobi after all… we _are_ supposed to depend on them.”

“Good question. There are many missions that require execution causing as little commotion as possible or even in complete secrecy. At those times battle abilities are almost counterproductive. The current exercise consists on trying to find and steal the other team’s treasure. Team 10’s treasure will be a small wooden box and Team 7’s treasure will be a small green box.” He said and raised said items on each hand. “As you see, both items have virtually the same potential to be camouflaged and are the same size and shape. The only difference will be the ability that you will have when working together.” Asuma finished and handed one treasure to Shikamaru and the other one to Naruto. “You can only use a 10 meter radius area around the center of this clearing, which allows only for a line or two of trees for hiding. Now, both teams have five minutes to develop a strategy on those opposite spots” he pointed towards two points on the edge of the clearing. “and come back here. This emulates how little time teams have to prepare for the real thing out there. When both teams have come back to this spot, I will give you the sign to start the hunt. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes.” Sasuke raised his hand. “How much fighting or ninjutsu are we allowed to use?”

 _Figures._ Sakura rolled her eyes and Asuma explained that the more fighting is depended upon, the lower the score on teamwork, which was what this was all about. Sasuke growled a bit, clearly not fond of the idea of not being allowed to use his jutsus. Kakashi gave them the signal to start and each team went different ways.

“So, do you guys have something in mind?” Naruto asked in a low voice as they gathered closely.

“I believe that we should hide our box. It’s the safest option.” Sasuke whispered.

“I think that we should use a shinobi’s best tactic.” Sakura smirked. “Deceit.”

“Oh. You mean…” Sasuke smirked back at her and Sakura nodded.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naruto questioned.

“We should spy on the other team.” Sakura said. “You guys find a proper place to hide the box and I’ll watch them.” She intently looked at Sasuke in the eye, hoping that he would understand the hidden message. _Naruto is completely_ obvious _, remember that!_

The boys quickly agreed to her plan, so Sakura made a clone and quickly dashed out of there. She could feel Kakashi’s presence somewhere watching her nearby, but he was an expert at hiding his presence and not even she could pinpoint his exact location. She slightly hid her presence, just enough so that Team 10 wouldn’t notice her, and quietly dashed through the tree crowns. She found them soon enough and noticed that they had decided to hand the box over to Ino. It was the best choice amongst the three of them, since she would’ve been the less likely to have it. Her team would probably guess that either Shikamaru – due to his brains and speed – or Choji – due to his raw strength – would be keeping it. Shikamaru pointed towards her leg and Ino put the box inside a holster that was tied to her thigh and hidden under her skirt. _Smart._ None of the boys would dare look in that place. Sakura noticed that they whispered some more, but since she wasn’t completely masking her chakra, she couldn’t get close enough to hear what they were saying. When the time was almost up, Sakura headed back to where her team was waiting.

“Ok. Ino has the box, but it’s under her skirt.” She said and eyed the team who was gathered on the other side of the clearing.

“What?! Do you expect us to… to…” Naruto blabbered and suddenly there was a goofy grin on his face. “Hehe… If you guys want me to, I can-”

“No, I’ll do it.” Sakura lightly smacked him on the head. “This isn’t a real mission, Naruto.”

“The box is hidden under that tree trunk.” Sasuke pointed to a tree and Sakura nodded. “All right, let’s go back.”

Team 7 arrived at the clearing around the same time as Team 10 and they gathered around. When Kakashi gave the signal to start, Team Seven immediately jumped at Ino and Shikamaru and Choji ran in front of her to protect her. Sasuke clashed his kunai with Choji and Naruto sent a kick towards Shikamaru. Sakura jumped above them and landed behind Ino, who turned around to punch her. Sakura caught her punch – which was sadly still weak – and Ino aimed a kick to her side. Sakura caught her leg as well and then twisted her around, forcing her on her knees. As she held her down, Sasuke came rushing to her and took a hold of her arms in Sakura’s stead.

“Wh-What are you doing, Forehead?!” Ino complained when Sakura’s hand lifted her skirt to search through her holster. As Sakura’s hand neared her holster, she realized that none of her teammates were there to help her. She knew before she felt it; the box wasn’t there anymore. _Damn it, Shikamaru!_

“Naruto, I know where you hid your box.” Shikamaru smirked at the blonde. Obviously, Naruto panicked and his eyes darted towards the tree where they had hidden the item.

Shikamaru smugly smirked at his obliviousness and darted towards the spot. Sakura quickly looked at Sasuke, but he had an amused look in his face when their eyes met. Sakura had to stiffen her laugh and then the both of them jumped at Choji.

“Shika!” Ino screamed as she stood up and ran after Team 7.

Sakura and Sasuke caught Choji in a lock in just a couple moves and then Sasuke proceeded to check his pockets. Naruto noticed that his help was needed and he moved to stand in front of Ino, blocking her way. Shikamaru obviously noticed that he had been played, but by the time he came back to the rest of his team, Sasuke was lifting his hand and holding up their opponent’s box.

“We win.” He announced.

“Damn it.” Shikamaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“So, Team 7 wins the encounter, huh?” Asuma grinned and laughed loudly. “I must say that you both did well. Team 10 assumed that they were probably being watched, so they purposely misled the other team and then used the weakness of an opponent to their advantage. On the other hand, Team 7 decided to observe their opponents almost immediately _and_ used the weakness of one of their own to fool them.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto frowned.

“Naruto, the box was never under that tree.” Sakura smiled fondly at him. _He’s still such a child._

“What?!” Naruto widened his eyes and face palmed. “I can’t believe it!”

“It was the obvious course of action, dobe.” Sasuke chuckled and eyes the blonde, whose mouth was agape.

“You did well.” Ino smiled as she neared Sakura and then leaned over to whisper in her ear. “ _Damn it,_ you should’ve asked Sasuke to search me over! Maybe it would’ve caught his interest, you know?”

Sakura simply laughed along with her friend and bit her goodbye as she turned around to leave with her team. However, before they disappeared out of sight, Shikamaru turned to look at her over his shoulder. His gaze was calculating and slightly narrowed, and Sakura could only wonder what he was so suspicious about. Was he upset about not winning? She didn’t think so; it didn’t seem like something that he would care about. Had she been too well hidden and he had become suspicious about not sensing her?

“What’s up with him, huh?” Naruto huffed and put his hands on his hips as the Nara teen finally left. Sasuke didn’t say anything, but observed Sakura curiously. Soon Kakashi was in front of them and clapped his hands together once in an overly cheerful manner.

“Well, it seems that my lovely student’s teamwork has finally developed. I’d even say that it’s above the usual genin level.” Kakashi commented and there was a slight crinkle on his visible eye, meaning that he was smiling. “Therefore, I have decided to sign you guys up for the chuunin exams. What do you say?”

“Yes!! I’ll show that Kankuro bastard!” Naruto punched the air and Sasuke simply nodded in agreement.

“I say yes.” Sakura said and forced herself to keep the worry out of her face. She had long ago decided that Orochimaru was too tricky and elusive to avoid. If they didn’t take the chuunin exams, he would come after Sasuke anyways and Sakura wouldn’t have a way to protect him. On the other hand, if they _did_ take the chuunin exams, she would have the knowledge of how things would transpire and have therefore the upper hand. Also, she had assessed her current abilities and amount of sealed up chakra and concluded that she was strong enough. She estimated that her current strength was not far from what it’d used to be by the time the fourth war had started. It had taken a _lot_ of effort in the past two years and she guessed that her abilities would be on the previous level in less than six months.

“Good. These over here are the registration forms, which you must fill in and get your parents to sign.” Kakashi said as he handed the sheets to his students. “Of course, the last part only applies to Sakura. I’ll be the one to sign this up for you boys before you turn them in. You have until tomorrow at 3:00 pm to turn them in at the Ranking Office at the Hokage Tower. Let’s meet at the entrance half an hour earlier.”

“All right. See you there sensei.” Sakura waved him goodbye along with Naruto, while Sasuke simply nodded once. They were turning away from Kakashi to leave, but the older jonin spoke once again.

“Sakura. I’d like to have a word with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh. All right.” Sakura turned around and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

“Have a seat.” Kakashi sat down and patted the ground in front of him. Sakura did as he said and then looked up with a questioning glance. “Is there a problem between Shikamaru and you?”

“Well, as far as I know there isn’t. I noticed how he turned to look at me, but I really don’t know why.” Sakura said honestly. If Shikamaru was suspicious of her – which he had evidently been – Kakashi would wonder about her too – that, if he didn’t already.

“Right. Well, that’s not what I wanted to discuss. You see, I wanted to talk about your medical abilities.”

“Okay.” Sakura raised her eyebrows in question and tried to keep a regular heartbeat. She had already thought about what to answer if it came to this, but she still was a bit nervous.

“Back at the Wave Mission you healed Naruto’s hands and then, on the mission report, you stated that you healed some of the injuries produced during battle. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I truly wonder when all of this… _changes…_ happened. I mean, I read your academy profile before meeting you and there weren’t any mentions about this.”

“Well… You do remember that my scores on chakra control were the best at the academy?” Sakura asked and Kakashi nodded. “I noticed that I had a natural aptitude for it a year or two before graduating… so I started reading about what abilities relied strongly on it. That’s how I came across medical ninjustu.”

“So… you’ve been practicing chakra control and medic ninjutsu since before you graduated?”

“Yes, I even mentioned it when we introduced each other, if I remember correctly. I’d say I’ve been learning for a little over two years.”

“And you’ve been learning _all alone_? No teacher? No field experience? No _hospital_ experience?” Kakashi narrowed his eye at her and Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine.

“Well… I bought a great book – an encyclopedia actually – about the human body, medic Justus and how to apply them. I think it might’ve taken me longer than most people because I didn’t have a teacher, but I _had_ a lot of time. I also practiced on myself; a small scrape or cut at first and then some deeper gashes.”

“So… you’re telling me that you practically learned medical ninjutsu by yourself and with the aid of a _book._ ” Kakashi leaned closer to her, examining her thoroughly.

“I think so…” Sakura wanted to ask him if there was something wrong with it, but she didn’t want him to dig any deeper. She settled for a confused expression and silence.

“Well.” Kakashi straightened back and closed his eye for a moment. “Some of the chakra control exercises you performed were high chuunin level and you’d learned them around the time you graduated. It’s completely remarkable and extremely rare for this to happen. I’d say that you’re a genius. What surprises me and makes me wonder though is _why_ this wasn’t noticed back at the academy.”

“I… I didn’t really do any of this back then. I saw how particularly skilled students were treated and I didn’t like it.”

“Hm.” Kakashi eyed her for another couple seconds in silence. Sakura had known him for _years_ and she was certain that he was still suspicious about her, but didn’t know of any other way to question her. For now. She just hoped that he would drop it and let her leave before she gave herself away to his sharp observation skills. “All right. I think that abilities like yours shouldn’t be allowed to go to waste. I will personally talk to the head of the hospital and request that he allows you to work and learn there. You should go talk to him once the chuunin exams are over. You would like to do that, right?”

“Yes. Thank you sensei.” Sakura smiled and slightly bowed her head in gratefulness.

When Sakura sensed that the conversation was over, she waved and hurriedly left the clearing. As she walked away on a forced and painfully slow manner, she took a couple deep breaths, sensing that Kakashi was still back there. She cursed herself at her nervousness; she had been faced with death many times during her life and with the juubi, Madara, Kabuto, Sasori… and yet she almost lost her cool when _Kakashi_ of all people questioned her. On the other hand, it made sense that she was kind of scared of having someone dear distrust her. Nonetheless, if this happened a second time, she’d have-

“Where do _you_ think you’re going?”

“Wha-!” Sakura nearly jumped at the sudden interruption. She was surprised to see Sasuke standing there, leaning on a tree next to the path that connected the training ground with the village. “Why are you here?”

“Have you forgotten already?” Sasuke said expecting an answer that never came and sighed. “Testing? You have a health to look after? Remember?”

“Oh. That.” Sakura dumbly said and felt Sasuke’s hand wrap around her own, pulling her forward. She silently walked next to him and, when he was certain that she wasn’t going to bail, he let go of her. Sakura turned her head to look at him with a raised eyebrow and willed her eyes to stay away from her palm, which was still tingling from the warm touch. Her astonishment at the contact must’ve been obvious, because a weird silence stretched for a while. She finally decided to break it, so she asked the first thing that she thought of. “So, what test am I supposed to be taking?”

“Aren’t you the medic?”

“I guess. I thought you knew, since you were so adamant about the tests and all.” Sakura smiled and soon she saw the hospital in her line of sight.

They soon entered the reception room and she asked to see a general doctor. Thankfully, the hospital was unusually empty and she was called up before she could take a sit on the waiting room. Sasuke stubbornly followed her inside and waited in the hallway as she took the tests. When Sakura had taken blood samples and came out of the scanner room, he followed her back into the medic box.

“You know, Sasuke, this is actually kind of weird. You seem like a creep following me around like that.” Sakura said teasingly and smirked when he growled and mumbled something incomprehensible. Sakura managed to pick up something along the lines of _‘it’s not like I’m enjoying this, but I know that you might try to bail or hide the results.’_

It turned out that the tests results only took 5 minutes to be out and, as soon as they were, the doctor announced that Sakura was completely healthy. As Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the building, it was already dawn. Sakura watched Sasuke from the edge of her vision.

“See? I _knew_ I was ok, you didn’t have to worry about me.” She said and he tensed a bit. He wasn’t comfortable having his feelings – or worries – exposed like that and stayed quiet for a moment or two.

“Well... It’s not like I was _worried_ worried. You’re a part of the team and we’re supposed to look after eachother, otherwise it could become a hindrance to our performance.”

“Yeah, whatever you say.” Sakura smiled at him, relishing on how he was slightly flustered at her teasing. Sasuke finally sighed in surrender and averted his eyes. She was certain that, as soon as he found what her weak spot was, he’d be the one doing all the teasing _._ Hopefully, he wouldn’t ever find it, because her weak spot was _him._ As they walked through the streets, Sakura noticed that they’d have to part ways soon. “It was a good exercise today.”

 “Yeah. Naruto’s face was hilarious when he found out about how I’d tricked him.” Sasuke looked upwards in remembrance and released a small laugh. Sakura couldn’t help but feel her eyes glued to him, trying her best to drill the image of him laughing; his eyes softened a bit, his mouth curled more on one side and his hands slightly tightened on his sides. Sensing her silence, he turned his gaze towards her and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I’d never seen you laugh before.” Sakura blurted out before she could think about her words. Sasuke’s eyes widened at her words and he looked at the ground for a moment before answering.

“I… don’t really laugh much.” Sasuke said quietly and his tone made Sakura’s heart clench. He was _so_ damn alone all the time. He had such a big burden to bear. Everyone who had even paid him any mind had either been fangirls, who only cared about his looks and last name, or people who looked up to him as an Uchiha and a shinobi with outstanding potential.

“Sasuke. If you ever want someone to simply hang out with, you can count me in. Or if you want to talk or if you need anything at all too. Not just training, you know?” Sakura tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but the intensity in her eyes probably gave her away.

“I… Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.” He nodded at her, waved goodbye and took the turn towards his apartment.

Sakura stood there on the crossroads looking at his retreating back. She was surprised to realize that, when he had answered her, he had seemed truly grateful. His eyes had actually softened when locking with her own, and she had felt _him_. The real Sasuke. The one she had fallen in love him the first time around. The one that was slightly distant after so much hardship and loneliness, but was kind-hearted and just. The one that hadn’t been corrupted by Orochimaru’s seal and the worlds twisted political schemes. Sakura looked down at her hand – the one he’d briefly held just an hour or two ago – and the memory brought the tingling feeling back to it. She remembered how he had laughed a bit and how her soul had seemed to explode at the sight.

Sakura quickly turned around and took the turn towards her parents’ house. As she walked, she had to cover her face with her hands to hide the ridiculously wide grin that was spreading on her lips. Although her love for him had never ceased, it had somehow subsided and become number after everything she’d gone through. But now…

_Damn it. I’m falling in love with him all over again._

**A/N: Hello, dear readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Not _much_ happened, but it’s the build up for the chuunin exmans… which will be starting next chapter, by the way. Also, there were a couple hints that will be developing later on in the story and there was some character development between Sasuke and Sakura. **

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed or followed the story. Also, I’d be really thankful if you keep on giving me you input and impressions on this chapter _and_ your expectations on the next one.**

**Thank you all for reading!**

 


	11. First Phase

** CHAPTER 11 **

“Hey guys.” Sakura neared her two teammates, who were standing in front of the Academy. She had been late because she had played along for a while when Iruka casted a genjutsu on her. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s not like you to be late for something like the chuunin exams.” Sasuke pointed out.

“Oh, it’s just that Iruka came to me and tried to dissuade me.” Sakura shrugged.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and snorted. “Yeah right, like you would step out of this.” He said and walked into the building, followed by the rest of his team.

Sakura took a deep breath in and entered the building. There were only a couple important goals that she had settled since her arrival at this timeline. The first one would happen shortly; helping Sasuke avoid getting Orochimaru's cursed mark. She had been planning this day for a long time and felt that she had the upper hand. But, even though she knew that she'd be able to use her seal against Orochimaru if things didn’t go as planned, she couldn’t help but worry; it was a sannin that she would be up against after all.

They walked up the stairs until they arrived to the supposedly ‘third’ floor. It was such an obvious genjutsu, that Sakura was surprised that most applicants wouldn’t realize it. Team t finally got to ‘room 301’ to find that there was some sort of commotion going on. Tenten was hit by two older Leaf shinobi, who were blocking to way into room 301. Sakura knew that it was all show and that Tenten was all right, but she walked to her to give her some moral support nonetheless. She had become friends with her in her past life and wanted to help her out.

“Are you all right?” Sakura asked as she kneeled next to her. Tenten turned her head to look at her with a raised eyebrow - they hadn’t met yet, after all - but Sakura pulled her to her feet anyways.

“This is not the right place for little girls. Much less girls with ridiculous pink hair. You do know that you carry a target on you head, right?” one of the older shinobi laughed.

“Tch. Don’t listen to him, Sakura.” Sasuke came up to her from behind. “You do know that this isn’t even the place we’re supposed to be at. You are, after all, the best amongst us in genjutsu and analytical abilities.”

“Yeah.” Sakura said and watched Tenten go back to her team. Naruto furrowed his brows at Sasuke’s words and Sakura pointed to the sign that had ‘301’ written on it. “This isn’t really the third floor; it’s the second.”

Everybody’s eyes widened as the genjutsu was dispelled and the number ‘301’ was replaced by ‘201’. One of the nins blocking the door smirked at Sasuke.

“Oh, so you brats spotted out illusion. You are quite the smart ones, huh? Let's see how you deal with this!”

The ninja launched at Sasuke and he jumped to aim a kick at him, but Lee moved at huge speed and caught both their attacks in his hands. Everybody was surprised by this and both ninjas retreated. Neji walked to Lee and reprimanded him for not keeping a low profile, as they’d agreed. Lee turned to Sakura and walked to stand right in front of her. She raised her eyebrows.  _Oh, I remember this._

“You are Sakura, right­?” he smiled and pointed his thumb at himself. “My name is Lee. Please be my girlfriend! I’ll protect you with my life.”

Sakura’s face was blank for a moment and then she sighed. She was about to reply, but someone spoke before she could.

“I don’t think she needs any protecting.” Sasuke said with a monotone voice and rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Lee said, without breaking eye contact with Sakura. Sasuke grunted, clearly upset at being brushed off. “So, Sakura. What do you say?”

“Er…” Sakura smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I don’t even know you.”

“Oh.” Lee straightened a bit. “So, maybe if we got to know each other…”

“Actually. I’m currently focusing on my shinobi career.” Sakura said before he could speak any more. “So I will put any romantic relationships for later. Besides, I’m only thirteen.”

“Hahahahaha! Well, that was expected!” Naruto laughed loudly and patted Sakura on the shoulder in a well-done-buddy manner.

Lee didn’t say anything, but he seemed quite disappointed. Sakura would’ve felt sorry for him, but… honestly? Did he ever think that she would’ve agreed to that right after the first introduction?

 “Hey, you. What’s your name?” Neji approached Sasuke.

“It’s common courtesy to first introduce yourself before asking a person’s name. I’m not obliged to answer.” Sasuke said smugly.

“Hey, guys, let’s just get going.” Sakura said.

She was followed by her team towards the staircase and they finally got to the real third floor. They were about to enter the hallway leading to the exam, when someone called up to them. They all turned to see Lee looking down at them from the fourth floor on the staircase.

“Hey, you. The one with an attitude.” Lee pointed at Sasuke. “Fight me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I want to test out my strength… and prove myself to the beautiful lady next to you.” Lee said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and Lee turned to look at Sakura. He started blowing kissed her way and said that he loved her. Sakura felt her eye twitch in annoyance and she honestly didn’t remember how she’d reacted to that last time around, but she could only wonder; he was kind of unnerving actually. Even Naruto and Sasuke seemed uncomfortable by his shameless display. When he seemed to be done with showing his interest in her, he turned to Sasuke once again and smirked. “Or could it be… that you’re scared?”

Sasuke’s eyes shone with the challenge and Sakura inwardly sighed at his ego. Naruto only stretched his arms and yawned in an overly fake manner, signaling that he was bored by the exchange. Sasuke and Lee started fighting and, obviously, Sasuke’s ass got pretty much kicked since they were only using taijutsu. He also tried using his sharingan, but even though his eyes were fast enough, his body was not. Sakura was about to intervene when noticed that Lee was going to use a forbidden jutsu, but a huge red turtle appeared and caught Lee with a bandage and pulled him back. Sakura jumped to catch Sasuke before he crashed down on the floor and helped him sit down. On the other side of the room, Lee fell on his knees in defeat and regret after the turtle started lecturing him about how he wasn’t supposed to use that jutsu unless absolutely necessary. It turned out that the turtle was Lee’s sensei, Gai. Sasuke and Naruto were a bit crept out at how much the both of them looked alike and were appalled when he stated that he was as strong as Kakashi. After that, the both of them started making a scene about the power of youth, creeping both boys even further.

“W-what the fuck is wrong with them?” Naruto's voice sounded utterly surprised and he took a step back.

“They’re complete freaks…” Sasuke deadpanned, but there was a slight twitch in his eye. He was obviously unsettled by the way both ninja related to one another. “I sincerely hope we don’t end up using a mask like Kakashi by the end of next year…”

Sakura laughed at them, by now used to the green-suited shinobi's antics. “Let them be, guys. Let’s just get going.”

“Sasuke.” Lee called and Sasuke turned to look at him above his shoulder. “I have to say that I’m not even the strongest in our team. You seem pretty arrogant and should know that you still have a long way to go.”

“Ha! Sasuke, so much for being over-confident and such. I bet you are almost as bad as I am!” Naruto snorted. “Lee actually seems to be training much more than you are, huh?”

Sasuke didn’t say anything, but Sakura noticed how he clenched his hands and his eyes darkened. She immediately understood how he was feeling. His drive to become stronger was immense and he had deep emotional reasons to do so. Since his clan got massacred, his whole life had been revolving around power and she could only imagine how frustrated he had to feel by the fact the Lee was stronger than him.  _Lee_  of all people, who seemed almost like a clown for people who didn’t know him. He clenched his eyes shut and Sakura threw a disapproving look at Naruto, who frowned and shrugged. Of course he didn’t understand the depth of Sasuke’s motivations.

“Sasuke.” Sakura laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’ve been genins for half a year now, right? Lee has been a genin for a year longer than we have, so you have to be patient. I’ve seen how much you’ve improved and I’m sure Kakashi also has. You will get there in no time. And, trust me; I know that you work very hard to get better. Don’t punish yourself.”

Sasuke looked up at her with a frown, but seeing how sure she looked about her statement seemed to put the Uchiha at ease. He slightly smiled at her and nodded, making Sakura feel butterflies in her stomach.

The three of them left the two bushy-eye browed ninjas in their imaginary sunset scenery and walked into the hallway. When they got to the end of it, they found Kakashi standing in front of the door. He explained that he was proud that the three of them had decided to take the exam, since only teams of three were allowed to. He wished them good luck and poofed away from there. When Team 7 entered the room, they found that it was packed with shinobi. Most of them were at least a year or two older than them and there were even some that seemed almost adults.

“Sasuke-kuuuuun!” Ino appeared out of nowhere and she hugged Sasuke with all of her might. “Ohhh, I’m so glad that you’re here! It’s refreshing to see another attractive person in here – you know, besides myself.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Ino, don’t be so invasive.”

“Oh, forehead.” Ino turned to Sakura. “It’s good to see you. Too bad that you’re not raising the average attractiveness of the crowd.” She smirked and then looked around. “Err… well, maybe even  _you_  can manage such a feat when surrounded by  _these_.”

“Good to see you, too. Pig.” Sakura smirked and playfully hit her friend on the shoulder. It was always good to have Ino around, even if it was the thirteen year old version.

They were soon surrounded by the rest of the rookie 9 – Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba and Shino. Shikamaru suspiciously watched Sakura for a couple seconds and then turned away to talk to Shino. Sakura frowned a bit at this, but didn’t say anything. They all started talking about what they’d heard from other people about the chuunin exams. How a lot of people had died, how only a bunch of all of them in the room would pass, how intimidating most of the other applicants seemed.

Sakura soon stopped listening to them and started looking at the other participants, having a faint memory of most faces around her. When she was done assessing the competition, she frowned. She had a nagging feeling that something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She had some memories about the exam from her past life, but she didn’t recall all of the exact events; it had been at least 6 years ago, after all. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud outburst.

“AHHH!” Naruto yelled and turned to point at the silent audience. “All of you! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I’m going to kick your asses!”

“IDIOT!” Ino screeched and she forcefully tagged at Sakura’s sleeve. “That dumbass over there is your friend, right? Make him shut the hell up!”

“I guess I should do that.” Sakura sighed and walked up to Naruto. “Naruto, you might get us in trouble. Don’t pick a fight when we  _most definitely_  don’t need one.”

“They seem so full of themselves. I was just-” he was about to say something else but stopped when he noticed Sakura tense.

Sakura sharply turned around to face the crowd when she felt a killing intent nearing them. Her sharp eyes caught a blur approaching them and she positioned herself in front of Naruto. She didn’t remember him getting attacked on this part of the exam, so she was overly cautious. Suddenly, she heard kunai cutting the air and she pushed Naruto away from the attack. He landed on his butt at least a couple meters behind and looked up in confusion at Sakura and the rookie nine that were now surrounding him. Sakura, who was still in the front, had stepped away from the attack and growled. In the blink of an eye, another foreign ninja was in front of her and aimed a punch at her jaw. Sakura used some of her enhanced speed and jumped back, dodging the punch. She felt the air around her twist in a weird manner and swore, only now remembering _who_ these ninjas were. She could've dodged the macabre manipulation of the sound waves, but she would’ve had to use much more power than she should’ve had and they were all certainly being watched by jonin and ANBU. So, Sakura took the invisible blow and landed on her feet right in front of Naruto. She looked up to notice that there were short pink hairs falling all around her; her enemy's punch hadn’t connected with her jaw, but somehow it had managed to cut some of her already short hair.

"Not bad speed. But sadly not good enough." He said in a cruel tone as he towered in front of her.

"Wha-" she was about to speak when a sharp pain in her throat stopped her. She coughed and saw the blood on the floor at the same time that she tasted it on her mouth. She looked up to the nin in front of her, who she now recognized to be part of the sound village.

"Who are you?" Sasuke's voice was icy cold next to her as he took a hold of her arm. She looked at him and noticed that he was assessing her status as he stole quick glances of the enemy.

"We're genin from the sound village and we will be chuunin by the end of this exam." He smirked down at her. "You better tell your idiotic friend to stay out of our way, pinky."

"Tch." Sasuke was about to say something else, but Sakura took his hand in a firm hold and shook her head. Sasuke growled, but decided to drop it. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I already healed it."

Just then, Ibiki Morino appeared out of nowhere and harshly reprimanded them for fighting. He then instructed everyone to pick up a number from a box in the front.  
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto walked up to her. "Thank you!"

"Idiot. Do you see what your impulsiveness can cause?" Sasuke said in an upset tone. Naruto only then noticed the blood and bit his lip in obvious guilt.

"I’m sorry." Naruto looked down for a moment in slight shame. “How are you?”

"It’s ok. I’m all right. Just be more careful next time. Now, we have to go pick a number. We're definitely passing this exam." She smiled at him.

Naruto beamed at Sakura and gave her a tight bear hug. Sakura relished in the feeling of her friends arms around her for a moment and then they all picked a number, which turned out was the position in which they'd have to seat. It turned out that Sakura was seating next to Sasuke and Naruto was two rows ahead of them. Sakura had to laugh a bit at the face Naruto did when he heard the first part would be a written exam. When Ibiki mentioned that they would be scored as a team, Sasuke flinched a bit and grunted in annoyance. Of course he would, since he probably thought that they might fail because of the blonde.

When they were handed the sheets Sakura allowed her eyes to quickly check the questions. It was _absolutely_ obvious that they were expected to cheat in this exam. Sakura would even dare say that some jonin wouldn’t be able to answer every one of them. It was to be expected that mere genins would probably know maybe only a couple. She looked from the corner of her eye to see that Sasuke had a frown on his face, probably appalled that such difficult questions were being asked. Sakura remembered that, due to her exceedingly sharp memory and analytical mind, she had been able to answer most questions last time around. She smirked; this time however, she knew the answer to all of them.

Sakura laid the pen down when she finished scribbling down the answers after a couple minutes. She looked up to see that a lot of the examinees had been kicked out because of copying in a too obvious manner. Sakura looked as Sasuke and saw that he was gaping at her. He quickly realized that he wasn’t supposed to be watching her during the exam, so he averted his eyes and stole a couple short glances her way. Sakura smugly smiled at him – shamefully proud that she had impressed him – and moved her hand away so that he could watch her sheet. He smirked back at her and turned on his sharingan. He stole a quick glance at her answers for a fraction of a second and then looked back at his own sheet. He started writing down what his eyes had impeccably caught.

Sakura turned to look back at Naruto. He was practically pulling the hair out of his head, probably distressed about not knowing any answers and seeing that many applicants were writing down at a steady pace. Sakura fondly smiled at her friend, knowing that he was too naïve and too correct to attempt to copy at all. Next to him was Hinata, who was looking his way every now and then, probably expecting him to copy off her.

“Ahem.”

Sasuke’s soft fake-cough brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at her raven haired teammate from the edge of her sight. He slightly jerked his head towards Naruto, signaling that he wanted to give him a hand. Sakura sighed. She knew that she couldn’t just tell him that it wasn’t necessary for Naruto to know the answers. She wasn’t even supposed to know that piece of information. Also, she supposed that this thirteen year old Naruto wouldn’t even be able to pick up on whatever they wanted to tell him. And so, she found herself going along with Sasuke’s ideas.

They tried to get his attention for minutes, to no avail. Sasuke even tried using morse code, but Naruto didn’t notice. He was so engrossed in his own worries that wasn’t even trying to find a plausible solution for his predicament. In the end, they decided to stop their attempts, seeing that it was no use.

When there was only around two thirds of the initial number of candidates, Ibiki announced that he would give the tenth question. He also informed them that, if they chose to hear it and failed, their whole team would be disqualified from the exam and banned from ever participating again. Most genins froze at that and a bunch of them dropped out at the prospect of being genin for the rest of their lives. After a while, Naruto stood up and slammed his hand on the table.

“Damn it! Don’t take me for a coward!” he yelled. “I’ll become Hokage even if I’m still a genin!”

His outburst seemed to give hope and determination to the rest of the applicants, because no one else left the room. In the end, Ibiki smirked and announced that all of them had passed the exam. He explained that the first part was meant to test their abilities at intel gathering and the second one to test their guts. Suddenly, Anko came in through the window in a flashy appearance and announced that she would be the proctor for the second phase of the exam.

However, Anko’s voice blurred into the background for Sakura as she looked around once again. There is was. That nagging feeling. Sakura frowned for a moment and then her eyes widened in realization. She had unconsciously known it since soon after entering the exam room, but hadn’t consciously realized it until now. It was a twist in events that she had never guessed she would encounter. It was a slight change that could mean nothing, but could also mean _so damn much_. It probably did mean terrible news. The awareness of it made her blood run cold and her body tense so much that her nails dug into her palms until they bled. She double and triple checked her surrounding _and_ her recent memories, but there was no denying it anymore.

Kabuto had not attended this year’s chuunin exam.

 

**A/N: There goes the 11th chapter. It was a bit shorter than usual, but I think the last part was pretty revealing. I’m not saying why though, it’ll spoil the story for you guys!**

**As always, thank you so much for reading, reviewing and following! I _always_ appreciate both your support and constructive criticism. **


	12. Forest of Death

** CHAPTER 12 **

Team seven walked through the trees of the Forest of death. It was no wonder that it was called that, since it was actually pretty creepy. The trees had grown so close together, that barely any sunlight passed through the dense crowns. There were all kinds of wild animals roaming around and under the huge roots that had grown above the ground were countless insects. However, Sakura could not care less about any of that.

Her mind was filled with worries about the fact that Kabuto hadn’t appeared at the exam site. She had actually considered dropping out of the exam to protect her teammates. However, she had decided not to for two reasons. First of all, if she dropped out after passing the first phase it would draw unwanted attention. Secondly, she had concluded that if Orochimaru was really after Sasuke - or anyone for that matter - he would find him anyways.

So now that she was in the middle of the second phase, she was feeling more on edge than before. They bad been roaming around for almost half a day and hadn’t encountered anyone at all. Sakura didn’t really remember if they had faced anyone by this time in her past life. It was mostly general memories that she recalled. She wondered if they would find Orochimaru at first or another team. If they came across another team first and they had the other scroll, she would at least feel somehow relieved and would be able to focus on Orochimaru only.

"It'll soon be dawn. We should find somewhere to spend the night." Sasuke said after another couple minutes.

"Yeah." Naruto said and Sakura silently nodded.

They looked around for a while and finally found a place that was well enough hidden. It was a small spot that was under a sort of rock that covered some bare ground. The place under it would be at least 2 meters high and 2 meters deep. I was a bit narrow, so they would have to sleep closer than usual, but the cover it provided was worth it. If an enemy managed to spot them, they would have to leave the place as fast as possible so that they didn’t get cornered. They would have to set up some booby traps to slow them down and get alerted of their presence.

"I'll set booby traps." Sasuke informed.

"I don't think we should separate." Sakura objected. "A hidden enemy might take that chance to attack."

"Hmmmm." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I know! Let's just do everything together!"

"Oh. That's so ingenious, Naruto." Sasuke sarcastically remarked and rolled his eyes, but there was a small smirk on his lips.

"I know, right?" Naruto smiled. Sasuke snickered a bit and Naruto's smile dropped. "Hey!"

"Guys." Sakura giggled. "Let's just go get some fire wood."

The tree of them walked out of their hiding spot and into the trees around them. They started picking up sticks and thin branches, since they wanted the fire to build up fast and last for a short time. If it burnt up slow they would take too long to eat and if it lasted too long they would be too exposed. Ten minutes later they had gathered enough sticks and headed back. However, as they neared their hiding spot Sakura sensed a couple foreign chakra signatures around the spot. She inwardly thanked her heightened sensing abilities, because they had masked their chakra almost perfectly. They were good. Sakura quickly took a couple steps until she was standing right next to Naruto and behind Sasuke.

“Careful.” She whispered in a low voice, so that only they would be able to hear her out. “We have company, but don’t let them know we’re aware.”

“So.” Sasuke spoke up in a normal voice. “Wanna go set booby traps around?”

“Yeah!” Naruto cheered with an overly wide smile and Sakura inwardly sighed at his horrible lying abilities.

Their opponents were probably waiting for them to set the traps and get to their hiding spot. It would allow them to bypass the traps and trap them inside. It was a good plan. As the Team Seven moved around the edge of their camp ‘looking for good spots to put the traps’, Sakura slowly approached the chakra signature that was the most hidden. It must’ve belonged to a strong genin, probably stronger than Sasuke and already on chuunin level.

Sakura quickly eyes her teammates to make sure that their guards were up and then launched a kunai towards where the unknown ninja was hiding. As the kunai made contact with the tree trunk, the explosive tag attached to it was set off. A tall shinobi jumped out of the trees and into the clearing, escaping the blast.

“Well, well. It seems that we were spotted.” He smirked. He was a slightly older teen – probably around 16 – and had a Kusagakure headband tied to his head. Sakura quickly eyes to her right and noticed that the rest of the opposing team had also revealed themselves and were standing in front of their teammates.

“Too bad I’m a good sensor.” Sakura smirked and crouched, getting ready for battle.

The foreign nin jumped at her with a tanto sword and Sakura had to do a number of backflips to properly dodge his attacks. She landed a couple meters away from him and took out some shuriken that had strings attached to them. She threw them towards some trees that were behind him and, as soon as they hit their target, Sakura pulled at the string. Her opponent widened his eyes at her unexpected trick and tried to get out of the way, but it was in vain.

In the blink of an eye, he was tangled up in the net of strings that Sakura had produced. Sakura noticed that he managed to free the hand that was holding his weapon and was going to cut through the strings. She decided that the safes option was to help one of her teammates to lower the number of enemies for sure. Sakura flash stepped towards where Naruto was not far from there, who was battling with taijutsu – using his shadow clone jutsu, of course. His enemy wasn’t having too much of a hard time dispelling them, since Naruto actually wasn’t too good on hand to hand combat. Sakura quickly appeared from behind Naruto’s opponent and chopped the back of his head in a second. The older teen dropped down to the ground in a second, unconscious.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto smiled and she waved him off as her original adversary was aiming a kick at her side once again.

“Go help Sasuke!” Sakura noticed his reluctance. “Do it!”

Naruto growled a bit, clearly wanting to help her out, but ran towards their other teammate. Sakura quickly checked on Sasuke, who didn’t seem to be having any trouble, but didn’t appear to have an upper hand either.

“Well, Pinky. It seems that you’re good on long range battle tactics. Let’s see how you deal with hand to hand combat.” The older nin smirked and Sakura mirrored his expression.

_Oh, he didn’t know what he was getting into._

Sasuke dodged another punch that was aimed at his jaw and counterattacked with a kick to the gut, which was blocked. He clicked his tongue and jumped back a couple meters. He smiled and lifted his hands to do a fire ball jutsu… but stopped with a deadpan once he saw Naruto standing right in front of him.

“Don’t worry, Sasuke! I’ll help you out!” Naruto screamed and jumped at Sasuke’s opponent with a bunch of clones, which were dispelled one after the other.

The real Naruto came at him with a strong punch but decided to take the hit that was aimed at him. He caught the enemy’s hand in a firm hold and looked at Sasuke though narrowed eyes. Sasuke immediately got the message and jumped back at them. He punched the wide-eyed ninja straight in the jaw, and the strength rendered him unconscious.

“Hell yeah!” Naruto punched the air. “That’s what you get for messing with us!”

Sasuke smirked a bit at his antics and looked at Sakura, who was standing on the other side of the clearing. She had tied each shinobi down with thin gum strings in a manner that would ensure they wouldn’t break free for at least a couple hours. He almost flinched when he saw the huge bruise that was forming on her opponents jaw. She turned to look at him and smiled, doing a thumbs up at him.

“Good work guys.” Sakura cheered. “Too bad, though; they had a heaven scroll too.”

“Damn.” Naruto deflated at the news.

“Naruto.” Sasuke turned to the blonde. “Can you send a clone to drop these guys somewhere else?”

“But… what about when they wake up? They’ll be trapped for days.” he frowned.

“You should know that this kind of strings stretch slowly. They should be able to break free by tomorrow.” The raven haired said with a sigh.

“Oh, all right then.” Naruto said and put his hands together. “Kage bunshin no jutsu!" three other Narutos appeared and left the clearing, carrying the enemy nins away.

The three of them realized that their firewood was still lying around and they hadn’t hunted anything. So, they walked around the surroundings of their hiding spot settling booby traps to catch any other ninja that tried to attack them. When they were certain that no one would be able to enter without them knowing beforehand, they went back to their spot.

"Naruto, can you have your clones and hunt something for dinner on their way back?" Sakura asked and Naruto nodded.   
  
He then roamed around for a bit searching for a couple stones and then set them in a circle so that the sticks wouldn’t fall apart. Sakura bent down and started getting the fire wood together. When she was finished and had settled it inside the rock circle, she walked towards Sasuke who was standing not far from her.

"Hey, can you light up the fire please?" She asked him and he nodded. Sasuke walked towards where the firewood was and bent down. As he did, Sakura’s sharp observation skills picked up the slightest flinch in his eye. He made the hand signs of a small fire jutsu and then blew flames into the wood, successfully lighting them up. Sakura was by his side in a second, put a hand on his shoulder and spoke on a low voice. “Are you injured?”

Sasuke flinched a bit and looked around to see that Naruto was minding his own business – skinning a rabbit for dinner – and looked back at Sakura.

"It's nothing, just a small gash. Nothing to worry about." He waved her off.

"Don’t give me that. I don’t mind taking a look and it's better to make sure, right?" She said and he turned to complain but she raised a defying eyebrow at him. "Be responsible with your own health, Sasuke. We're in the middle of the chuunin exams."

"Okay." Sasuke sighed in defeat. Sakura was about to take a closer look when he raised an open palm to stop her. "But after dinner. I don’t want Naruto to see this."

Sakura looked at him with a straight face for a couple seconds and then she understood why he wanted it that way. Neither of the other two was in need of any medical attention and Sasuke didn’t want to seem weaker. If it was up to Sakura, she'd say that he was actually competing with the blonde. Just like old times. Sakura giggled a bit and Sasuke averted his eyes in a slightly shy manner, knowing that he'd been busted. Sakura swore that there was a tiny blush on his cheeks, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"Guys, come here." Naruto called. "Pick up whatever parts you want."

Sakura turned around wordlessly and crouched next the blonde. He had already taken his share and was putting it to roast over the fire. She picked up a couple meat pieces and pierced them with a thick wooden stick that was around. Sasuke came after her, set up his own and walked back to the fire. They all gathered around the fire and waited for their meal to be ready.

“So, how are we going to do this? I think we just have to find any team, we’ll certainly defeat them!” Naruto said as he bit down on his meat.

“I think the best course of action would be to try to find another team near the tower. Probably every one of them will head that way sometime and it’ll be convenient to be close to the ending point once we’re done.” Sasuke said.

“I agree.” Sakura said as she mindlessly munched on her own food. She wanted to avoid the place where they’d encountered Orochimaru, but she believed that it wouldn’t really make a difference. Also, she didn’t remember the exact location where he had attacked, so it wasn’t any use to worry about that.

“Sakura you really beat the crap out of those ninjas.” Naruto pointed out.

“Yeah. I’ve been training a lot.” She smiled.

“Chakra control, huh?” Sasuke added. “I don’t think I’ll ever have enough of it to pull out an attack like that one and step out with enough chakra to keep on fighting.”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that attack. But I don’t know… I’ve never really worried about running out of chakra during a fight.” Naruto scratched his chin. “I don’t think I ever have.”

“ _Everyone_ has a limited amount of chakra, Naruto.” Sasuke said.

“Maybe Naruto has higher chakra reserves than the both of us.” Sakura said, knowing that his huge amount of chakra was due to the kyuubi. “I’ve read about some ninja that have huge reserves and don’t break a sweat when using a lot of it.”

“Of course. But we do know that only happens with _years_ of practice and experience.” The raved haired added. “I don’t think Naruto is one of them.”

“Hey! I can make a lot of shadow clones and I never get tired.” Naruto puffed his chest in pride.

“That’s true…” he trailed off.

“Hey, let’s decide who’s taking first watch.” Sakura said and she eyed Sasuke with a raised eyebrow that said _you still need to be healed._

“I don’t mind taking first watch.” He mumbled.

“All right! I’ll take second watch.” Naruto said and, after making sure there were no objections, stood up. “I’ll go straight to bed.”

He walked towards the hidden spot under the rock and rolled his sleeping bag open. He looked back at Sakura, wondering why she wasn’t going to sleep, and she simply brushed him of. He shrugged at her vague answer and laid down on his back. Not two minutes later, he was still as a stone and softly snoring. Sakura immediately turned her eyes to look at Sasuke, who was watching the coal.

“It lasted just enough for us to have dinner, huh?” Sakura said and moved to sit next to him.

“Hn.” His eyes never left the almost black carbon.

“So…” Sakura began, hoping that he would get the point.

Sasuke wordlessly shifted and raised his shirt above his head to take it off. There was a not so deep gash on his left shoulder that had bleed a bit, but apparently not much, because his shirt had a rather small stain on it. Sakura walked closer to take a better look at the wound, but noticed that the color of his flesh was slightly off. If she had been a regular medic nin she would’ve missed the yellowish taint.

“Hey, have you been feeling ill?” Sakura asked and he turned to watch her for a moment. “You know, like headaches, nausea, dizziness.”

“My head felt weird for a moment before.”

“I knew I should’ve taken a look at this before.” Sakura sighed. “That weapon was poisoned.”

“Is it bad?” Sasuke frowned.

“I’ll know in a second.” Sakura said and moved to sit in front of him. She put her arms around him and moved her head closer to his wound. When she was almost touching the tender skin she inhaled deeply a couple times. “It’s not dangerous, but we must remove the poison before it spreads any further.”

“Ok.”

“Er…” Sakura scratched her head in wonder. The regular shinobi means of treating poison was extracting it with chakra, but it was a quite advanced procedure. She knew that jonin and ANBU were watching the exam applicants at all times of the day, so she couldn’t take any chances. She would have to do it the old fashioned way. “This might be a little uncomfortable for you.”

“I know what you have to do. I don’t mind.” Sasuke shrugged.

Of course he didn’t mind; he was Sasuke, a cool and collected shinobi. This only was a simple procedure for him and he probably would never give it another thought. On the other hand, Sakura was pretty much a perv in her own way – she had always blamed Naruto and Kakashi for that – so she _did_ mind. However, she obviously wouldn’t let Sasuke know that her mind drifted that way. So, she moved to sit between his parted legs and leaned down on his shoulder. Sakura took a moment to calm her fast heartbeat down – in vain – and then took a breath in. She pressed her lips to his wound and he recoiled at the touch a little, but the immediately kept his stance straight. Sakura sucked on his wound and spit the acid tasting venom on the ground next to her. Sasuke didn’t seem uncomfortable with her closeness and Sakura’s inner danced around in circles in joy.

_Oh, hell yeah!! Love prevails!_

Sakura silently punched her inner quiet, but it was difficult to keep her naughty nature at bay. As she repeated the actions, she couldn’t help but let some of her nineteen year old self take over. She softly took in his scent; he smelled like the humid trees of an old forest. The feel of his skin against her lips and the heat of his body radiating made her mind dazed. She had to force herself to concentrate on the task at hand and not get carried away by the tingling feeling in her stomach. She urged her eyes to stay focused on Sasuke’s wound, because she would probably lose her mind if she took a look at his face. When she finally finished the horribly long process – at least it was to her – she put her hand on his shoulder. A green light surrounded her hand for a moment to heal the small gash and then she moved back. After doing just that, she noticed that there was a burning heat on the light skin of her cheeks. She quickly looked at Sasuke, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her blush. To her relief, he was intently observing the burnt down coal.

“All done!” Sakura said and hurriedly looked away from him as she reached for her pouch. “You might still suffer some after effects of the poison, which could include slight faintness and some numbness on your shoulder. Take this pill, it’ll help your body fight the substance and you’ll be as good as new by morning.”

“Thanks.” Sasuke said and looked her way and took the pill from her hold.

“Hey.” Sakura called after making sure that her blush was gone. “You should rely on your teammates.”

“I do.”

“I mean… don’t carry any burdens by yourself. And I don’t just mean injuries such as this one.” She stopped and wondered how to address the subject without seeming suspicious. _If you ever get the cursed mark… if you ever think about deserting the village…_ “If you ever have any problems… or if there’s anything on your mind… you should know that you can count on us. I know Naruto will be there for you as well. We are here to keep each other safe after all, right?”

“Why are pointing this out know?” Sasuke looked into her eyes curiously.

“I’ve realized that you usually keep things to yourself. I know that you have the right to; it’s your own privacy after all. But know that it you ever come across something important and you need someone…” she trailed off.

“All right. Thank you, Sakura.” There was a small smile on his lips.

“I’m going to get some sleep.” She announced and waved him goodbye.

Sakura settled down on the narrow space that they had decided would be the sleeping spot and moved closer to Naruto, who was still slightly snoring. She felt his warmth surrounding her and she was reminded how lucky she was to have the both of them by her side. She was also thankful for Sasuke’s slight changes of behavior. Where on her past life he would’ve been annoyed by her words, he had now seemed honestly thankful for her support. She didn’t want him to feel alone and hoped that, in time, he would open up to her and tell her more about his feelings and worries. With those encouraging thoughts, Sakura closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

Sakura was shaken awake by a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Sakura-chan.” Naruto’s voice had her open her eyes and stare into his blue eyes. “It’s your turn.”

“All right. Thank you, Naruto. I’ll take over watch duty, get some sleep.” Sakura stood up and put on some warm clothes. She walked a couple steps towards the place where she would be sitting, when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Oi… I’ve been meaning to ask. You seemed quite distracted when the exam started. Is everything all right?” Naruto came to stand next to her.

“Oh.” Sakura raised her eyebrows. She knew that Naruto was more observant than he usually let on, but she hadn’t expected him to notice her weird behavior. She felt happy that he noted her worried state, but there was no way she could tell him that Kabuto – an S-rank enemy no one knew of – was not participating in the exam. “I was just a little worried about this phase… it’s more dangerous than the last one. And this time we don’t have Kakashi-sensei with us.”

“Don’t worry, Sakura. Didn’t you see how good we did back there? There’s no way anyone’s defeating us in here!” Naruto grinned.

“I guess so.” Sakura smiled back. _I hope you’re right about that, Naruto._

“Good night.” He waved and went to sleep.

Sakura sat down on the rock from where she was supposed to keep watch and silently looked at the blinding darkness that stretched under the trees. She allowed her mind to half focus on keeping watch and half go through her memories of Orochimaru. She had some strategies thought out for when he approached – _if_ he did. How she would proceed if Sasuke received the cursed mark. How she would proceed if she managed to kill that snake. What she would do if he escaped.

As her thoughts kept her mind occupied, almost three hours passed in what had seemed half an hour for her. When it was the break of dawn, she woke her two teammates up and they picked out their stuff. They had a quick breakfast that consisted in some special energy bars that were especially made for travelling shinobi.

Ten minutes later, they were ready to go and picked up their stuff. Sakura stayed behind both of her friends, so that she could keep an eye on them. They walked through the forest for almost two hours, nearing the place where the tower was located at. At some point, Sakura noticed that the forest seemed much denser than before. It was practically a swamp and the tree trunks were so thick that she wondered if even three people together would be able to put their arms around them.

As they walked around trying not to step on the mud of the numerous wetlands, Sakura’s shinobi alarms went off. She felt the tiniest chakra presence… it was so well hidden that it she hadn’t gone through the war, not even her sannin senses would’ve been able to pick it up. It was almost inexistent and she’d actually almost disregarded the feeling as if it had been a slight shift in the atmosphere, but she knew better. That ability didn’t belong to any genin or chuunin. Not even a jonin would be able to pull such a thing off. And that could only mean one thing; Orochimaru was there.

And there was no way she was going to let him lay a _damn_ finger on her precious people.

 

**A/N: So, here goes another chapter. Next chapter will be a thrilling one. I hope that you enjoyed the preface to it.**

**I always love to read your feedback! Thank you for your support!!**


	13. The Snake Sannin

** CHAPTER 13 **

Sakura had already determined that she didn’t need to keep her strength hidden around Orochimaru. It was obvious that he had attacked at a spot where no one was able to watch them; he would’ve been found out last time otherwise. So she concluded that no one would see her true abilities… well maybe only her teammates. It was a dangerous assumption, but they would lose to Orochimaru otherwise. Sakura brought her attention back to the task at hand and closed her eyes for a moment to assess how close she’d felt the presence of the snake sannin. She finally decided that he was no further than 15 meters into the forest. It was a dangerously close distance for a shinobi of his caliber. She was about to open her mouth and tell her teammates to keep their guards up when she stopped dead in her tracks.

There was a second – and much stronger – shift in the atmosphere and she immediately knew that something was coming their way at great speed. Sakura barely managed to move aside from the huge wind attack that headed their way and had to use all of her chakra control ability to keep her feet glued to the ground. Because of how strong the wind was, she had to narrow her eyes almost to the point of completely closing them, so she could barely see around her. When the wind stopped and the dust cloud had cleared, Sakura moved her head around to look for her teammates. She gravely noticed that, even though Sasuke had managed to stay in place last time, neither him nor Naruto seemed to be around.

“Oh, you’ve been left all alone.” A voice said from where the attack had come from.

Sakura turned around to face two young men she didn’t recognize. They were wearing weird clothes that somehow reminded her of Orochimaru’s. However, she immediately decided that she’d never felt their chakras before and therefore knew that it was not the snake sannin himself. Instead of helping her relax, the knowledge that her teammates were on their own and that Orochimaru was not with her made her panic. _I need to find them!_

Sakura was without a doubt going to ditch the two unknown shinobi as she turned to leave. In the blink of an eye, one of the men used an earth style jutsu and huge rocks appeared in front of her. She didn’t waste another second and gathered her chakra to her fist before slamming it into the wall in front of her. As the rocks crumbled in around of her, Sakura dashed though the dust at top speed, but was forced to stop abruptly when she saw one of the nins in front of her. She felt the presence of the other one’s chakra signature not far behind her and knew that she was surrounded.

 “You’re right to be scared, little girl.” one of them, who was bald, grinned evilly. “That was a strong punch, but it won’t help you when faced with the two of us.”

“Fuck.” Sakura cursed as she looked towards where her teammates were.

“Oh, you’re worried about your friends?” the other one – who was wearing a weird hat - said in a mock sad tone and smirked. “They’re already doomed.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes and quickly assessed their strengths. She decided that they were around regular – maybe high – chuunin level. She had to get this over with as soon as possible so that she could go find Sasuke and Naruto.

She lifted her hands and used some of the gum string in her pouch to do a makeshift net. She jumped and swirled it around in the air. When she was on top of the bald nin, she released the strings and tried to tie him up to a tree behind him. He was tangled in the strings for a moment but quickly sliced through the net. As he stepped out, Sakura was already on him and aiming a punch at his gut. He widened his eyes at her glowing hand and managed to dodge just in time. Sakura’s punch went straight through the tree breaking it in half. She noticed that the other nin was quickly approaching, so she picked up the trunk out of the ground and threw it at her enemies. They had been too close to her and didn’t have enough time to dodge.  The tree trunk hit them head on with full force.

“What the hell!” one of them moaned as he stood up.

Sakura was aware that she needed to save her chakra for later and since there was no water around, she immediately discarded using any water jutsus. She noticed that both shinobi were now standing next to each other. She quickly started making hand signs and slammed her hands on the ground.

“Doton: Doryū Taiga!”

A pool of mud appeared beneath them and they sunk into the ground. Sakura was already running at them full speed and punched her chakra enhanced fists towards their faces. The bald one was unlucky enough to be too slow and his jaw, cheekbone, and part of his skull broke with a loud _crack._ The other one dodged at the last minute and managed to pull himself out of the mud pool. Sakura landed a couple meters away on the other side and locked eyes with her now lone enemy.

“Who _are_ you? Aren’t you supposed to be a genin?” he stammered.

Sakura paid him no mind and ran at him once again instigating a taijutsu battle. They exchanged a couple blows, but no one managed to lay a hit. In the end, Sakura grew impatient and heightened her speed using chakra. When he aimed another kick at her gut, she dodged at great speed and took a hold of his neck.

“Agh!” he shrieked in fear, but that didn’t stop Sakura from slamming his head face first into the ground. He groaned in pain, but Sakura was not in a position to hesitate and took out a kunai, stabbing him on the back of the head.

She stood up and looked around for a moment, making sure that her two opponents were indeed down. After a couple seconds she concluded that they were both dead and she set off towards where she felt her teammates’ presence. Sakura had always preferred to avoid killing enemies; she was a healer after all. However, after so many years of a career as a kunoichi and living though the fourth shinobi world war she had somehow hardened. She sometimes regretted it a little bit that she had turned out this way, but knew that it was expected considering her profession. Although, the main reason she had decided to kill without a second thought was that both her teammates were probably facing Orochimaru right now.

Not thirty seconds later, Sakura was stepping into a part of the forest in which the trees were especially overgrown. She immediately located her teammates.   Not far from her, was an unconscious Naruto stuck to a tree by a kunai.  On a further branch there was Sasuke with an anxious expression on his face and looking determinately at something to Sakura’s right.  It was none other than the snake sannin himself, grinning like a madman – as per usual. Sakura quickly jumped up to the tree trunk where Naruto was hanging from and stuck a hand and both feet to the wooden surface with chakra. She took the kunai out and caught her blond friend before he hit the ground.

“Sakura!” Sasuke yelled at her as her movements seemed to catch the other shinobis’ attention. “Get the hell out of here!”

“Now, now. We were just having a little conversation here.” Orochimaru smirked wickedly and licked his cheek with his ridiculously long and thin tongue.

As both engaged in a conversation once again, Sakura paid them no mind and laid Naruto down on a thick branch where he wouldn’t fall off. She lifted his shirt to see that Orochimaru had placed a seal on top of his usual one, preventing him from using the Kyuubi’s chakra. Thankfully, Sakura had already predicted this and made a few hand signs before placing her hands on the blonde’s stomach. As Orochimaru’s seal drifted away, she placed her hand on his temples and quickly healed his throbbing headache – a symptom of being abruptly cut off from such an immense chakra supply.

After properly laying him down, Sakura looked up to see that Orochimaru was in the middle of a one-sided conversation with Sasuke. The sannin was just telling him how advanced his abilities and doujutsu were for a genin and how interested he had become in him. Sakura smirked knowing that the snake sannin was too arrogant and over-confident and that he wouldn’t have paid a _pink haired girl_ any mind. So, luckily for her, he hadn’t noticed that she had undone his sealing technique on Naruto.

“I will leave you a parting gift.” He smiled evilly and put his hands together in a seal.

Sakura immediately recognized what he was about to do and forced chakra to her legs. Within a few seconds she was standing a couple meters from Sasuke with a chakra fist. As Orochimaru’s neck stretched and his fangs neared Sasuke, Sakura moved and punched the snake’s head away with all she had. Oh, how she hoped that she had broken a bone or two – but she knew that he would be able to heal in no time. At least she had prevented him from giving Sasuke the cursed seal _for now_. She immediately moved to stand right in front of Sasuke and crouched in a defensive stance.

“Sakura!” Sasuke hissed from behind her. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with! There’s no way we can defeat him. He’s been playing around with me the whole time.”

“Sasuke, I’m not leaving you here with _this madman_.” Sakura growled, the hatred she had always felt towards Orochimaru, the man who had taken Sasuke away and destroyed him further, returning to her with full intensity as her hands began to tremble. Sakura took a deep breath to calm down, knowing that having a clouded head would only end up with her making a mistake.

“Oh?” Orochimaru came from behind a tree, his body in a whole piece once again. As she had predicted, he didn’t show any signs of injuries. “Another strong genin. This is indeed an interesting team.”

He was truly overconfident and clearly considered them just toys to pass his free time. Sakura snorted, he almost seemed to want to clap in honest joy. However, she inwardly smirked; she was counting on that.

“Sakura, let’s get out of here…” Sasuke said in a low voice and gripped her forearm.

“Oh, but I still owe you that parting gift.” Orochimaru said. “I have to say that I’m really interested in you.”

“You won’t lay _one_ finger on him.” Sakura said. She wanted to use her seal _so badly_ in order to properly fight him. However, she had decided to leave it as a last resort, because once she released it there was no turning back and she definitely wouldn’t be able to hide it for long. Thankfully, she had another plan in mind and hoped that it would work.

Orochimaru laughed at her words and made a few hand signs. From behind him, a dozen snakes appeared and launched at the pair at full speed. Sakura and Sasuke dodged the attack towards opposite sides. Sakura saw, that before Sasuke even landed, Orochimaru was already jumping at him. Sakura pushed her feet against a tree trunk and, with help of her chakra, managed to dash through the air just in time to push Sasuke out of the way. Both came to land harshly on the ground and turned to watch Orochimaru again. He had used an earth jutsu and threw a great number of rocks towards them. Sasuke used his sharingan to quickly dodge while Sakura skillfully punched every rock that came her way, turning them into dust. She cursed under her breath when she realized that they were now surrounded by a cloud of dust and couldn’t see anything.

“Sasuke!” Sakura whispered. “Can you see him?”

“Not yet.” He whispered back. Just as he finished answering there was a slight disturbance in their surroundings. Sakura turned to look in the direction she had felt it from just as Sasuke yelled. “There!”

Orochimaru appeared from the cloud of dust right next to Sasuke, aiming a punch at his jaw. Sakura didn’t even have time to worry, because her body moved on her own to protect him. The punch had been so strong, that it could’ve killed Sasuke by breaking his skull. As Sasuke was turning around to face the snake sannin, her body crashed into his as she punched Orochimaru. Both their fists crashed on each other with a loud _crack_ and they were sent flying backwards from the aftershock. Sakura collided with Sasuke who had been just behind her and they went flying into a tree. Sasuke hit the tree first and then Sakura slammed into him.

The force knocked the breath out of Sakura's lungs and both started falling towards the ground. Sakura glanced at Sasuke and saw that he was unconscious from the hit he had sustained - no wonder, the impact had been strong. She quickly took a hold of him just before landing and laid him on the ground. She quickly ran her chakra through him and sighed in relief when she felt that there was no damage to his head or spine. Sakura retracted her hands and winced when she felt her throbbing hand. The bones on the hand that had clashed with Orochimaru's fist were completely crushed and she quickly healed them.

She stood up and saw that the snake sannin was on top of a tree glaring down at her with slight amusement.

"You... you actually broke my hand." He raised an eyebrow at her and the skin of his hand melted away to reveal a healed one. “Hm… quite strong I must say.”

Sakura struggled to keep a straight face and not smirk at him; she didn’t want him to think that she was confident. She even tried to look slightly scared in his presence.

Sakura had already concluded that the only way she would have the slimmest chance of defeating Orochimaru was if she used poison, genjutsu and taijutsu. He was incredibly skilled at ninjutsu, so she had to prevent him from using it if she could, and his regeneration skills made him practically immortal. So, her whole strategy revolved around preventing him from using _chakra_.

She dashed towards him and gathered chakra to her fists. He narrowed his eyes at her - knowing that he shouldn’t block her punches - and dodged the punch to his gut. Sakura immediately aimed a second punch at his shoulder and he dodged once again. He was incredibly fast and Sakura knew that she wouldn’t be able to land a hit on him like this. It was a good thing that she wasn’t actually trying to hit him. As Orochimaru began making hand signs, she covertly turned her body to the side as she charged another punch and quickly took a needle from her pouch. When she moved her closed hand towards his face he dodged again, but instead of punching him she threw a senbon needle at his shoulder. He had just used a summoning jutsu that sent numerous snakes her way. Sakura dodged most of them, but one managed to bite her shoulder.

"Agh!" Sakura complained as the both of them jumped away from each other.

She used her chakra scalpels to cut the reptilian off her and noticed that her chakra reserves were less than half by now. Knowing that she had little time to lose she turned to her opponent.

"You are no genin." He voiced his thoughts with a sly smile. "I'd even say that you're a high jonin ranked kunoichi. This is quite surprising, especially for a little girl."

Sakura would have been quite flattered that he considered her that strong even without her seal unleashed if it weren’t for the fact that she had been bitten. In her past life she had developed a resistance to most poisons, but it had been a slow process and she hadn’t been able to completely develop it this time. She knew that it was only a matter of minutes until she felt her body would start to feel numb. Thankfully, she had also poisoned him and with a rather strong toxin as well. It would affect him more than her and she hoped that it would level the ground to them. It was a poison meant to mess with the flow of chakra in his body and prevent him from properly using it for the next couple of hours. She was grateful that he still seemed too confident and was taking the fight pretty lightly. If he didn’t, she would’ve been doomed without her seal.

Sakura quickly made a couple hand signs and casted a high level genjutsu, which drained a third of her remaining chakra. Orochimaru's gaze became slightly unfocused, meaning that he had been caught in it in the blink of an eye. The fact that he didn’t excel at genjutsu didn’t mean that he was _mediocre_ at all, so he would break out of it any moment now. Sakura took a second senbon and flung it towards his jugular artery, hoping that the poison would prevent him from using chakra as much as possible.

Orochimaru was stuck by the senbon just as he dispelled the genjutsu and he flinched at the feeling of the needle sticking out of his neck. He yanked it out just in time to dodge Sakura’s punch. He aimed a kick at her gut, but she managed to block it. He quickly jumped back a couple meters and drew his kusanagi slashing at Sakura, who was attacking him yet again. Her chakra enhanced kick missed once again, but she managed to pierce him with a poisoned senbon once more. She jumped back just in time to avoid being cut in half, but his kusanagi cut a deep gash on her stomach.

Both of them jumped back to put some distance between them and their opponent. Sakura felt as her blood run down her stomach, drenching her clothes at a fast rate, and put her palm on top of her injury. She pumped just enough chakra to stop the bleeding and then launched at him once again.

Orochimaru must’ve noted that he had no longer access to most of his chakra, because he became furious and clearly decided to take the fight seriously. Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine at the look on his face and hesitated in the middle of her attack. It was only a fraction of a second, but it was certainly enough time for him to counterattack as he took hold of Sakura’s arm, twisting her body around and slamming her on top of some roots sticking up from the ground.

“ _What_ kind of poison is this?” he hissed as he used all of his body weight to hold her small body down.

Sakura could feel blood running down her face, which meant the impact on the rough surface had injured her face or head. She honestly couldn’t tell, since the large amount of adrenaline running through her blood prevented her from feeling most of the pain. She gathered more chakra to her arms and used all of her strength to break out of his hold. He was physically stronger than he looked as she had expected – she had to grant him that – but thankfully not as strong as she was when she used chakra.

Within a split second, Sakura had forced him to release her and was standing at least a dozen meters away. His closeness had left her with a nauseating feeling and a chill on her skin that was hard to shake. Sakura quickly noted that less than a quarter of her chakra remained and cursed under her breath. She needed to finish this quickly or she would be forced to use her seal… which would only create more trouble in the future.

As Sakura and Orochimaru were glaring at each other, both thinking of a way to defeat the other, a huge surge of evil chakra suddenly surrounded them. Sakura felt her body tense and looked to where the great force was coming from. She felt partially relieved and partially worried at what she saw.

“Sakura!!” Naruto had unleashed the Kyuubi’s chakra. “That bastard hurt you!”

Sakura suddenly realized that she must’ve looked pretty banged up, since her midriff was soaked in blood and her face was bruised. Naruto seemed to lose control of himself and, within a second, three chakra tails had formed behind him. Orochimaru hissed at the sight of the demon fox jinchuriki and glanced back at Sakura once more. He certainly knew that he couldn’t use most of his ninjutsu techniques by now and it would be incredibly reckless to fight the Kyuubi using only hand to hand combat.

Naruto had his eyes trained on Orochimaru and growled before dashing towards him at an inhuman speed. Orochimaru managed to dodge the charging Naruto and jumped into the air. As he descended, the snake sannin made a few hand signs and Sakura immediately recognized the transportation jutsu. It was unfortunate that he was leaving, because she estimated he had very little chakra left which would have given them the upper hand. Before Sakura could try to find a way to prevent him from escaping, Orochimaru poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

“ARRRRGHHH!” Naruto launched himself towards the place where Orochimaru had just been standing at and slashed in rage at the now empty space.

He began falling towards the forest floor at an alarming rate. Sakura quickly devised a plan to force the kyuubi’s chakra back into the seal and gathered a great amount of chakra into her fist. She slammed her fist onto the ground where Naruto was meant to land. The ground cracked at least five meters deep and Sakura inwardly wished that she was capable of using wood style techniques to hold Naruto down. Sakura jumped into the hole and hid her presence to the best of her ability. Naruto soon landed in the deep crevice of rock and the resulting impact shook the ground with great force.

“AAAAAGH!” he screamed in rage at the fact that his prey had escaped. Sakura quickly approached the blonde, who was coated in a layer of orange bubbly chakra and had glowing animalistic eyes. Before he could figure out what she was doing, Sakura gathered chakra on her fingertips and molded it into a chakra-suppressing seal on her palm. Naruto turned around when he felt her chakra, but it was too late. Sakura’s hand slammed on his forehead and he was pushed back.

As the kyuubi’s chakra receded, Sakura panted and felt a little lightheaded from both the snake’s poison and the onset of chakra exhaustion. After a couple of seconds, the evil chakra was gone and Sakura flung Naruto over her shoulder. She brought them out of the hole and walked to where she had left Sasuke before. Sakura noticed that he was still unconscious and laid Naruto next to him. When she did, she realized that his body had been burnt by the use of the kyuubi’s chakra. Sakura noted that she had only a tiny bit of chakra left, but there was no way she was going to leave him like that. After all, if an enemy came by she wouldn’t be able to protect them anyways and it was a good idea to make sure at least one of them was in good shape. What if Orochimaru came back now while she was in this state and tried to mark Sasuke? She wouldn’t dream of giving him the chance.

Sakura’s hands glowed green as they passed above his burnt body, healing the red skin back to its normal color, and she prayed that he would wake up soon so he could watch over her and Sasuke. As she did that, Sakura felt her head pounding and noticed that her sight was becoming blurry, but she used every bit of her nearly drained chakra on Naruto. He stirred a bit and groaned, but he finally opened his eyes.

“Sakura-chan?” he asked groggily. “What happened?”

Sakura wanted to tell him that they were safe for now, but her body failed her and her vision became dark. She heard Naruto say something in the background, but she couldn’t make out the words, so she simply allowed the darkness to take her.

 

**A/N: So.. here it goes. This was an action filled chapter in which the first major change happened. Yes, in case you didn’t notice, Orochimaru wasn’t capable of giving Sasuke the cursed mark. Yet. You will have to find out later what happens.. so yeah.**

**FIRST OF ALL I want to thank my new beta reader MonochromeAce for helping me out with grammar and such! Thank youuu!**

**I also want to thank all of you for reading, reviewing and following. Your support really motivates me to write more and sooner.**

**I also want to thank NarutoxHonoka for giving me a couple hints on Orochimaru… I really was clueless about how anyone could stand up to him without the sharingan.**

**Please let me know what you think about this chapter!!**


	14. Earth Scroll

** CHAPTER 14 **

_Sakura woke up to a maniacal and malicious laughter on the background. She jerked up into a sitting position and looked around frantically. She was in the middle of a forest with trees so large, not even a fraction of the sky could be seen from between the treetops._

_“AHAHAHAHA!”_

_Sakura sharply turned her head to look towards the direction where she had heard the voice. She didn’t see anyone there, but it made sense because it echoed in a way that suggested that the owner of the voice wasn’t close. Sakura frowned a bit and stood still for a moment deciding what she should do. In the end, her curiosity got the best of her and she headed towards the laughter. After a while, the foliage cleared a bit and she managed to see a sight that chilled her to the bone._

_Sasuke was clutching at the hand around his neck while his legs dangled in the air. The hand belonged to none other than Orochimaru, who was laughing hysterically at the genin’s failed attempts to break free of his hold. Sasuke thrashed and twisted, trying to lay a kick on the sannin, but to no avail. Apparently, he noticed that someone else was present, because he turned to look at Sakura. His eyes met with hers and she was struck by how deeply terrified he seemed._

_“Sakura!” his horrified expression made her stomach clench in distress. “Help me!”_

_With those words, she was broken out of her reverie and launched towards their location. Sakura ran full speed, her legs working to the point of pain, but she didn’t seem to be getting any closer. As she ran, the forest between her and Sasuke seemed to stretch further and further. No matter how much she ran the distance between them didn’t change!_

_Orochimaru turned to briefly look her in the eye and smirked viciously. Sakura just_ knew _that he was mocking her for her futile attempts at helping the young Uchiha. Suddenly, the snake sannin opened his mouth more than should’ve been humanly possible and two fangs came into view._

_“NO!” Sakura yelled just before Orochimaru bit down on Sasuke’s neck._

_Orochimaru looked up at her once more as he kept his teeth rooted into Sasuke’s skin and then let the boy fall to the ground before melting away. Sasuke landed with a thud and started shaking. Sakura was somehow able to reach him and raised his body to lean him on her chest. He was having such a terrible convulsion, that she was barely capable of keeping him in place._

_“Sasuke! Listen to me!” Sakura called to him in desperation. However, the shaking didn’t subside and Sakura noticed that her chakra was suddenly unavailable. She couldn’t heal him without it! He was clearly not reacting well to the cursed seal. She had to do something!_

_Abruptly, Sasuke’s shaking stopped and Sakura knew that such fast changes never meant anything good. She looked down at him and noticed that he was holding his throat in a tight grip. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times trying to breathe but failing. His black terrified eyes met with Sakura’s emerald ones and she held his free hand tightly. She knew there was something that she could do, even without chakra… but she couldn’t_ fucking  _remember! She was probably the best medic nin after Tsunade, yet she couldn’t remember how to help Sasuke!_

_“Sasuke!” she choked between tears._

_The young teen’s eyes started losing focus and the grip of his hand on his neck loosened. Sakura shook him a bit, trying in vain to keep him awake. Slowly, his already pale skin turned even paler, to the point that it became_ white.  _Sakura’s hands trembled as she held her loved one tightly to her chest. First she had allowed Sasuke to die in the Fourth War. She had watched him bleed to death, because he hadn’t wanted to live like that and she hadn’t known how to convince him otherwise. Now, when Sasuke had asked for her help with pleading eyes, she had done nothing. She had simply stood there and watched him die._

_Sakura watched in shock as Sasuke stopped breathing and his hand dropped to the ground next to him. She looked back into his unblinking eyes and knew that she had failed. Again. He was dead._

_“No, Sasuke! Not again!” she yelled between sobs. “Don’t do this! No!”_

Sakura jolted awake and sat up sharply. The first thing she discerned was that her head was throbbing like hell and her mouth was incredibly dry. Also, there was a generalized pain on her face and abdominal area. Her breathing was ragged and her whole body felt sticky. With wide eyes she looked around and saw that Sasuke was sitting right next to her. Alive.

“Sasuke!” Sakura said and wrapped her arms around him without thinking twice. “You’re all right!”

“Hn.” Sasuke answered shorty, but Sakura could tell by his rigid posture that he was slightly taken aback by her sudden display of physical affection.

She quickly retracted her arms and intently observed him trying to locate any wounds sighing in relief when she found none. Sakura looked around and saw that they were in some sort of cave and that it was night.

“What happened? Where are we? Where is Naruto? Does anyone need to be healed?” Sakura said without taking a single breath in and moved to stand up.

“Stop. Stay still.” Sasuke  _scolded_ and she suddenly felt thirteen again – truly thirteen. “Naruto woke me up when you were already unconscious, so we decided to find shelter. We’ve been here since yesterday at noon and you’ve been unconscious all this time. Naruto is asleep right now and I’m taking the second watch. Also, healing somebody else? Are you an idiot? Have you taken a look at yourself?”

At his words, Sakura lowered her gaze and then quickly assessed her own body. Her face was swollen and there were sharp pains here and there, meaning that she had not only bruises but other wounds as well. However, someone had already properly cleaned and bandaged the wounds on her face. In addition, her upper stomach was hurting as well from the wound that Orochimaru had inflicted on her and that she had barely healed.

“Who cleaned my wounds?” Sakura pointed to her face.

“I did. Don’t you think the dobe would’ve screwed up at least a bit?” he half joked.

“Thank you.” Sakura smiled and Sasuke returned a small one. Her heart almost stopped at the sight. “Well, my stomach it not in bad condition. I just need to heal-”

Her words were cut short by a barely audible crack at the entrance to the cavern. Sasuke quickly stood up and motioned for her to sit down once again. He swiftly and silently bounded to the opening of the cave and looked out for a long time. Sakura’s heartbeat was erratic. Was it Orochimaru? Had the poison already left his system? The chakra draining effect was meant to last at  _least_  a couple of days, so he shouldn’t be… but her estimate could be off in his particular case. He was one of the strongest shinobi alive, after all. Sasuke turned around and walked back to her.

“All clear. It was just a bird.”

“Are you sure?” Sakura frowned and looked back towards the outside with a frown.

“No one can fool my eyes.” He said reassuringly. Sadly, this did nothing to make Sakura’s worries go away. “So, can you heal it?”

“I have only recovered a small part of my chakra, but it is enough to treat this.” Sakura said and looked down to her blood stained shirt, which was now sticking to her wound. “Why didn’t you clean this one? The fabric is now stuck to it.”

“Tch. The dobe.” Sasuke clicked his tongue. “He kept blabbering about how we couldn’t trespass on your privacy as a girl and such. I didn’t think it mattered, especially given the circumstances… Right?” he trailed off a bit, silently asking her opinion on the matter – probably wanting to know in case something like this happened again in the future.

“Of course. We are shinobi; there’s no room for such doubts when it comes to an injury.” Sakura answered. She had always thought that way in every mission she had been at in her past life. Still, this was  _Sasuke_  and he would always be different to her. However, Sakura didn’t want him to find out that she cared, so she sighed and took a hold of the hem of her shirt. She slowly tugged it upwards wanting to reveal her wound, but the fabric was incredibly stuck to her wound. After all, it had been over 12 hours since the fight. “Ah-.”

“Here, let me.” Sasuke said and pushed her hands back to her sides.

Sakura wordlessly allowed him to and wondered if he would’ve ever offered to help with that in her past life. She watched intently as he took out a canteen and poured water over her shirt, right where the injury was. He softly rubbed his hand on top of her stomach to make sure that the wound became moist. He then leaned closer so that he would have better access when detaching the fabric from her wound. One of his hands started tugging at the edge of her shirt and the other sneaked under her clothes to help separate it from her skin.

If Sakura’s mind hadn’t been flooded with worries about Orochimaru coming after them, she would’ve been quite flustered at their interaction. She would’ve shivered at the feel of his hands working under her shirt and at his closeness. But it wasn’t the case. Sakura’s eyes kept darting from Sasuke’s hands to the entrance of the cave, her muscles tense and ready for battle if necessary. Finally, the shirt detached from her injury and Sasuke raised it up to her ribs.

“There.”

“Thanks.” Sakura said and started cleaning and healing her wound without a second thought. As her hands glowed green on top of her stomach she sighed. “I’m sorry that I’ve been keeping the three of us stuck here.”

“Don’t be. You saved us back there.” Sasuke waved her off and then seemed to hesitate for a moment. “He was incredibly strong. How did you even defeat him?”

“I didn’t. He was beating the crap out of me – as you can see – and then he suddenly decided to leave.”

“What? Why would he do that?” Sasuke furrowed his brows.

“Who knows.” Sakura shrugged at his question and then pushed her shirt down. She put her chakra coated hands to her head to try to lessen the headache that was washing over her once again due to her usage of chakra and the remaining after effects of the snake poison. “I just hope that he doesn’t come back soon. I can’t fight like this.”

“If he does, or anyone else for that matter, then Naruto and I will do the fighting.” Sasuke answered and Sakura opened her mouth to protest, as expected, but Sasuke cut her off. “It’s already been decided.”

Sakura didn’t say anything else and watched him for a second. His obsidian eyes were slightly brightened by the moonlight streaming into the cave and Sakura couldn’t help but feel out of breath at the sight. If she hadn’t been soaked in dried blood and sweat, the scene would’ve been almost romantic. He didn’t seem to think anything of her silence, because he finally stood up, turned away from her and started walking out of the cave.

“Get some sleep. You aren’t taking any shifts tonight.” He said and walked away from her. Sakura laid back down and looked towards the entrance of the cave a couple times, fearing that Orochimaru would find them while she slept. Despite her worries, she fell asleep in a minute, exhaustion taking over her once again.

Sasuke sat down on a rock at the entrance of the cave and watched the surrounding forest with a straight face and a hand on his kunai. He had been feeling quite perplexed with Sakura’s reaction during the fight with that  _freak –_ whoever he was. Her willingness to stand in front of him and fight _instead_ of him had almost been as unexpected as the older nin’s presence. When had she become so protective of him? Of course, he had known Sakura for a while now and he already knew that she had a habit of putting others before herself. However, this had been  _different._  It was as if she had expected something terrible to happen to him if she didn’t step in. She had seemed so adamant on protecting him that it had shocked him to the core. He had never seen her act like that, not even during their fight with Zabuza.

Sasuke had been born and raised in a conservative clan and it was normal for males to dominate and protect females. So, on one hand, his pride was hurt a bit by her protective behavior. On the other hand, it had given him a slightly warm feeling in his chest. He had been on his own for so long that he had forgotten how it even felt to rely on someone else. It was a small difference, but it significantly diminished the heavy feeling weighing on his chest.

Long ago, he had decided to carry his burdens by himself and find his own path. He would become the independent and self-reliant man his father had expected him to be. However, as the hours passed during his watch duty, he wondered what it would be like to share things with others. To rely on them – his friends, not that he planned on telling them that anytime soon – with whatever was troubling him.  Would sharing his thoughts and issues with them feel as reassuring as when Sakura steeped in front of him to protect his life with such fervor? The thought of doing that was oddly scary, but it also triggered something within himself that felt like he had taken off part of a heavy load. Maybe, just maybe, he would rather have that solace instead of his clan-built ego. A small smile tugged on his lips as he twirled the kunai around on his finger.

When the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon, Sasuke suddenly became agitated. Something felt off, and even though he wasn’t an experienced shinobi, Sasuke trusted his instincts. He shifted his body in a careless manner and furtively picked up a rock from the ground. He put a hand behind his opposite arm and looked over his shoulder and into the cave, throwing the small pebble right into Naruto’s nose. The blonde spluttered and sat up, looking around himself in confusion. He looked at Sakura, who was still sound asleep, and then as Sasuke. They locked eyes and he seemed to immediately get the message.

Sasuke turned around to observe the forest and heard Naruto’s footsteps nearing from behind him. When Naruto was standing next to him, Sasuke stood up and crossed his arms over his chest in a defying manner. If there was an opponent out there – something he was sure of – and they didn’t get his message, then they were either stupid or cowards. If the opponent knew that they were there, what was the point of hiding?

“It seems the kid noticed us, huh?” someone spoke from behind a tree. Soon, a man with a furry coat and bandages all over his face appeared from between the foliage. Two other shinobi, another teen boy with spiky black hair and a girl with long straight hair, appeared next to him. Sasuke immediately recognized them, not only because of their Sound forehead protectors, but also because they had been the ones to attack Naruto and Sakura just before the first phase began.

“You want our scroll, don’t you?” Naruto spat, clearly remembering them too.

“Oh, not just that.” The spiky haired one smirked. “We want you to hand over the pink haired girl as well.”

“What?!”Naruto hissed and jerked his arm out in front of him in defiance.

“Well, we don’t actually need to take her away. We were just told to get rid of her.” The girl smugly smirked.

“There’s no way we’re allowing you anywhere near her!” the blonde was furious.

“ _He_ sent you, didn’t he?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at them. He didn’t have any proof, but it didn’t require great analytical skills to suspect that the snake guy had sent them. He rapidly glanced into the cave and saw that Sakura was still passed out. She had finished healing only an hour or two ago and had ran out of chakra once again. He knew that she was in no condition to fight, which meant that this fight would be two against three.

“Your guess is correct.” The girl stepped forward. “So if you don’t want any more problems with  _him,_ you better do as we say.”

“Fuck off!” Naruto took a step closer too and started making hand signs. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

Four other Narutos appeared next to him and Sasuke eyed their surroundings wearily. They would have to fight and defeat them as well as guard the cave where Sakura was in. Naruto sent his clones forward, who tried to kick all three sound nin simultaneously, but they were immediately dispelled by the group’s taijutsu.

Sasuke hadn’t wasted any time, after activating his sharingan, he quickly appeared behind them. He aimed a kick at the one with the furry coat, but he turned around just in time to block the Uchiha’s attack. The girl was on him immediately and tried to punch him in the jaw, but Sasuke quickly dodged and jumped back a couple meters. He had to keep his distance from them, because from what he had seen back then he would lose if they caught him with their attacks.

On the other side, Naruto started fighting the spiky haired nin while keeping his distance. Sasuke was glad that he too had noticed that close combat would be dangerous. Naruto was trying to win the fight with kunai and shadow clones, but he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, since the Sound nin was skillfully dodging all of his attacks.

The furry coated nin was soon circling around Sasuke, working with the kunoichi to surround him. Sasuke turned around in order to run away from the center of the circle, but the girl threw a handful of senbon his way to stop him. Sasuke quickly made a decision and kept going nonetheless, because being surrounded was a far worse outcome than being pierced by a few senbon. With the help of his sharingan he managed to dodge most of the needles, but one of them scratched his arm and made a shallow cut.

He circled back towards the girl, since she had yet to use any special attacks, and took out a kunai. He tried to slash at her throat, but she blocked the attack by bringing up her own kunai. He then kneed her in the gut and took a hold of the wrist of her armed hand. Sasuke’s kunai flew towards her stomach once again, and his attack would’ve connected if a strong kick hadn’t hit him on his lower back. As he was pushed a couple meters back, he was satisfied to know that his kunai had managed to leave a shallow cut.

“Be more careful.” The furry coated nin reprimanded and the girl nodded in affirmation.

On Naruto’s side, the fight was stuck in a repeating loop. He made clones to attack the sound nin, which were dispelled every time, and then tried to injure him with long range weapons. Naruto looked over to Sasuke with worry, knowing that he had to finish this fight quickly to help him out, and then he suddenly remembered something. What he and Sakura had done back at the first fight with Zabuza could also apply to this battle.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

Naruto’s clones dashed towards his enemy who almost made a bored face at the old tactic. However, he didn’t expect one of them to be the real Naruto, so when he punched Naruto and it didn’t poof away, his eyes widened in realization. Sadly for the Sound nin, he had already lowered his guard, so Naruto's punch hit squarely on his jaw. The spiky haired nin was thrown back and landed on the floor messily. When he finally managed to sit up, Naruto was on him once again and punched him in the face.

This time, Naruto got on top of him and straddled his lower body as his fist repeatedly connected with the Sound nin’s face.

"You want to kill Sakura-chan?!" He yelled. "Like hell I'm gonna let ya!"

Sasuke's opponents realized that Naruto was beating the crap out of their teammate, so the girl immediately ran to his aid. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his now lone opponent, and yelled a warning at Naruto without looking his way.

"Naruto, watch out!"

His opponent didn’t allow him any more talking and stepped closer to him, raising his guard. Sasuke took his chance at a one on one fight and quickly took out some gum string from his pouch. He swirled it around for a moment making a net connected to a bunch of shuriken. He threw two shurikens at a tree that was behind the Sound nin and then dashed forwards. As he made a circle around his opponent, the foreign nin’s eyes widened in realization as he also ran in the same direction as Sasuke with a confident look on his face. Sasuke knew that he wanted to engage in close range combat and inwardly smirked.

When the Oto nin was only a couple meters away from him, Sasuke threw the other shuriken at a tree on the opposite side of him. The net stretched behind the shinobi in a semicircle with Sasuke in front of him. He must’ve realized that Sasuke's aim was to prevent him from running back or to the side, because he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!”

Just before fire erupted out of Sasuke's mouth, the furry coated nin jumped closer to Sasuke. He must’ve known that there was no way out and decided to risk it all as he raised his arm to use his own technique. Fire washed over the Sound nin who let out a loud scream of pain. Sadly, Sasuke also was hit by the nin’s invisible attack and it caused him to fall to his knees. When the fire subsided, Sasuke forced his body to stand and stumbled towards the groaning nin. He did his best to keep a clear mind as he tied him up with what was left of the string; he didn’t want to risk him getting up again. It took him a while, since his head kept pounding and his vision was blurry.

Naruto was currently trying to avoid getting hit by his opponents’ attacks, but couldn’t find an opening at all. His male opponent was pretty slow due to the beating he had received earlier, but the female was fast and sharp with her attacks. Whenever Naruto got close enough to the already half beaten shinobi, she would throw a senbon at him and stop him midway. Whenever he tried to attack her, the boy would come to her aid and he was forced back.

Sasuke was looking at Naruto's battle from the sidelines and willing his body to come back to its senses. If he joined Naruto's fight like this, he would become a burden more than an asset. He watched for a couple of moments as Naruto helplessly tried once again to beat both shinobi. Suddenly, the spiky haired nin looked his way and recognition shone in his eyes. He stopped fighting with Naruto to launch at Sasuke and the blonde widened his eyes.

"Sasuke!!! Move!!" Naruto yelled as he blocked another attack from the kunoichi.

Sasuke gathered all his strength and stood up straight, but another wave of dizziness washed over him and he fell to the ground. The teen was getting closer to him at a fast rate as he took out a kunai. Sasuke felt his heart rate go wild at the sight and his whole body tensed. Was he going to die like this?

The Sound shinobi was only a second away from reaching Sasuke when his head jerked forward and he fell to the ground. Sasuke was shocked when he saw a kunai deeply imbedded in the nape of his neck. He doubted Naruto had such good aim from such a distance. He looked up and widened his eyes just as Naruto cheered.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde smiled and then aimed another kick at the black haired girl he was fighting.

Sakura was heavily panting at the entrance of the cave, but she was also grinning widely. Sasuke locked eyes with her for a moment and felt a smile tug on his own lips. Even through his near death experience and dizzy head, he felt quite glad that she was up and walking around.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them once again. Another kunai was in her hand in a split second and she threw it towards the remaining enemy with excellent timing. The black haired girl was forced to block Sakura's attack and Naruto was on her in a heartbeat. He took ahold of her neck and slammed her on the ground violently. The air was knocked out of her lungs and, as she gasped for air, Naruto's strong punch connected with her cheek. The fight quickly ended after that and Naruto finished tying her up.

"Naruto, search them thoroughly." Sakura said and Naruto did. He immediately found their scroll and held it up.

"It's an earth scroll!" He cheered. "We did it!"

"Put it away, dobe. We don’t want another team suddenly stealing it away." Sasuke said after finally managing to get to them while stumbling.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto put it away and then pointed at the Sound nins. "What should we do with them?"

"They were after me, right?" Sakura said.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Naruto asked.

"I woke up to you yelling just that, Naruto. I'm sorry that I didn’t intervene before. I was feeling terrible and wanted to reveal myself only if necessary." Sakura said.

"It was the smartest choice." Sasuke nodded at her. "They would’ve attacked you immediately if they had seen you were up."

"About what to do with them... considering what they were actually after, we  _should_  kill them." Sakura frowned. "But I would rather not do that."

"Me neither." Naruto said without hesitation. Then both of them turned to look at Sasuke in silent question.

"I don’t know if it's smart to let them live." He sighed. "First of all, that man we faced yesterday was interested in me and now he seems to want Sakura out of the picture. Also, he's unbelievably strong. I'd say he's even stronger than Kakashi, who is a high rank jonin. We cannot be careless when dealing with anything related to that man."

"I know." Sakura said and looked down at her hands. "I know that the proper course of action is getting rid of them. But they're out cold and probably will fail this exam. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with the blood of unconscious people on my hands."

“Do you think they won’t come to get you after the exam? Because they probably will.” Sasuke pointed out and seemed quite frustrated.

“Maybe.” Sakura nodded. “But I’m willing to take that chance.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Sakura!" Sasuke growled and fisted his hands on his sides. "If you don't want to kill them, I will. I’m not risking both our lives for some ridiculous sense of ethics of yours. We are shinobi after all, so you better get used to killing."

"Hey, don't talk to her that way!" Naruto stepped in between and Sasuke flinched at the realization of his own outburst.

"Sasuke, let's not pick a fight. I think you're right, shinobi  _do_  kill for a living. However, I think the path of a shinobi isn't meant to be reckless or indiscriminate killing. We kill to protect our villages, our close ones, and to defend ourselves when we're under attack. Do we kill civilians? Do we kill anyone who might become a threat later on? Do we kill people who are completely defenseless and have no chance to fight back? I think there's a thin line between being a shinobi and a murderer and we should be careful not to cross that line."

Sasuke and Naruto stayed quiet for a long time, both taking into account what Sakura had said. Well, Sasuke was, because Naruto had clearly always agreed with her and was widely ginning.

"Tch." Sasuke finally gave in and clicked his tongue. "All right. But if they come after us later on,  _you'll_  be the one to blame."

Sakura walked towards the sound kunoichi, who was lying on the ground and was still conscious. Sakura kneeled in front of her and moved her hand to her face. Her hand closed around her jaw in such a tight hold that it almost cracked and then she inched closer to her face.

"Listen to me, and listen well." Sakura hissed with a coldness in her voice that none of the boys had ever heard on her and that sent a shiver down everyone's spine. "If any of you dare come after us again, I will destroy you in the most painful ways imaginable. I will pull out your nails and break your fingers. I will cut your body where it hurts the most and pull out every tooth in your mouth. I’ll fuck with your head so much that you will be begging for death. Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah." The girl stammered.

Sakura sharply released her face and stood up. She dusted her hands and walked back to her teammates. Of course, her threats were empty - she would never torture a person, unless it was completely unavoidable - but the girl didn’t need to know that.

"We should get moving. Sasuke, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked. “Do you need to be healed?”

“I’m feeling better, so no I don’t.” Sasuke said, finally gathering himself after watching Sakura threaten the other kunoichi with such ease and cruelty.

“How about you, Naruto?” Sakura turned to the blonde, who hadn’t even seemed to notice it was slightly out of character for a newly graduated genin to make such threats.

“I’m as good as new.” He smirked and Sakura returned the gesture.

_Of course you are._

“Now we have both scrolls, so I think we should try to avoid fighting as much as we can.” Sasuke pointed out. “I suggest that we slowly make our way to the tower and try to avoid crowded areas.”

“Why not go there as fast as we can?” Naruto pointed out. “It would be better to get there sooner, right?”

“First of all, we don’t know if we will be  _allowed_ inside before the whole five days have passed.” Sasuke explained. “It would be too dangerous to attract attention and then be stuck out there surrounded by enemies.”

“Also, I am still low on chakra and Sasuke is still a little shaken by his encounter. I’m guessing he will be back to normal by the afternoon, if not later.” Sakura added. “Our best chance at passing this exam is becoming invisible and avoiding other teams until the last day. We still have a whole day of hiding ahead of us, so we better start by masking our chakra.”

The three masked their chakras before picking up their stuff and leaving their hiding spot. Sasuke was pretty good at hiding his signature, which wasn’t unexpected since he was usually good at everything he did. Naruto’s chakra masking abilities were terrible, and his chakra signature was barely smaller than before. This also didn’t come as a surprise to Sakura, since she knew that suppressing or controlling his chakra with the  _Kyuubi_  as a guest couldn’t be a walk in the park.

Team 7 moved slowly and stealthily through the forest for the whole day. They skillfully managed to avoid any contact with other teams. Sasuke’s tracking skills allowed them to keep track of the paths that had been recently used by others. Sakura’s sharp senses and her chakra sensing abilities helped them stay away from crowded areas. Naruto’s stamina allowed him to, every now and then, get a bit ahead and have a look. When night finally fell, and after a long discussion on where to spend the night, they had decided on an area on the top of a rocky cliff. Yes, it could be a slightly showy spot to _hide_ , but it allowed them to clearly see their surroundings for at least a hundred meters in every direction. They had decided not to build a fire and eat some berries that they had picked on their way, as not to draw any unwanted attention. It was their last night after all, so they had to be extra careful; if their scrolls got stolen that night, they probably wouldn’t have another chance to get them back.

Sakura took the first guard shift, since neither of her teammates had gotten much sleep during the previous night. As Naruto and Sasuke slept next to each other on the most guarded part of their hiding spot, Sakura sat on top of a high rock. From there, she could see all around her for miles and feel the wind on her face. The moon casted a yellow light on every tree and on the rivers that crossed the forest. Hours later, Sakura felt movement behind her and turned to see that Naruto had woken up and was walking towards her.

“It’s still twenty minutes until your shift, Naruto.” Sakura frowned.

“I know.” He said and sat next to her. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the only sound around them were the crickets and the night animals that roamed around the forest beneath them. Suddenly, and after seemingly being in deep thought, Naruto spoke up. “Hey.”

“Hm?” Sakura mumbled with her eyes still on the scenery.

“What happened before I woke up yesterday? You were healing me when I woke up and then you passed out, so I didn’t have the chance to ask.”

“Oh… you had unleashed a… different kind of chakra. It was orange and bubbly and incredibly strong. Orochimaru seemed to be weary of it, so he left. It kind of hurt your own body as well, so when you passed out I healed you.”

“Oh. That.” Naruto looked down at his hands and nervously played with them for at least half a minute. “Sakura, you could be in danger some day and it’s also not fair for me to keep this from you…. So, you should know this. I… I’m a monster.” He whispered as his voice almost broke. “I have this demon sealed inside me, I’m not sure what to do with it, but I sometimes wonder if it’s safe for you guys to be around me.”

“I know.” Sakura smiled and Naruto raised his eyebrows at her, not knowing exactly what she meant. “You have the kyuubi sealed inside of you, right? Biju’s are usually sealed inside newborn babies and you were the only person that was born on the day of the attack.” Naruto frowned and was about to question how she knew that but she cut him off. “I came to that conclusion after reading some scrolls about the history of the village and seeing how the adults treated you. However, Naruto. Please know that you are  _not_ a monster. If anything, you are a hero. You’ve taken in the burden that was weighing on the village’s shoulders and have been struggling with it on your own. Also, I’m sure that such a responsibility will never be too much for you, because you are strong.”

“I am?” Naruto widened his eyes with slight disbelief.

“M-hm.” Sakura nodded. “In fact, I believe you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. I really admire you for that.”

Naruto was quiet for a couple seconds and then, suddenly, his arms were around her. Sakura hugged Naruto back so that he could put his head on her shoulder and tightened her hold when she felt him shake a bit.

“When I found out that I had…” he took a deep breath in. “That demon inside me… I was terrified. All of my life I had always been alone, and figured that I would be hated and casted aside for the rest of my life too. After all, who could want to be even remotely close to a monster?” Naruto stopped for a while and Sakura felt his tears soak her shirt. Her heart broke a little at his words. “I didn’t know what to do to get recognition, to get affection. I was  _just_ a child, Sakura. It was so hard…”

“I know.” Sakura felt tears form on her own eyes and she softly caressed his back.

“Hearing you say that I’m not a demon… that it’s all right to be like this. It’s such a relief.” He buried his head further into her shoulder. “I was terrified of what your reaction would be when you found out. You know what, Sakura? Your friendship is by _far_ the best gift I’ve ever received.”

Sakura chocked on her own tears and held him tighter. She took a deep breath in and spoke into the side of his head.

“Me too. You’re the best friend I could ever ask for. I’m also grateful for your friendship and I will  _never_  leave you alone for anything in the world.” Sakura smiled.

When Sakura’s shift was over, she didn’t immediately leave. She sat next to Naruto in a peaceful silence until her eyelids started dropping. She then walked back to her spot and laid down next to Sasuke relishing in the feeling of his body heat on her cold body and his soft breathing. Sakura hadn’t slept that good in _months_.

 

**A/N: Well, here it goes. This chapter was mostly character development and only little action. I hope that you guys like what I did with it.**

**I want to thank my beta MonochromeAce for her quick revision!**

**I also want to thank all of you who review and follow for your continued support, as always. Your feedback helps me find out what you like the most and also gives me ideas.**


	15. Preliminaries

**A/N: I usually don’t put anything before the chapter, but I need to clear something up first. Some readers have been asking when the romance will start. I have to say that _not yet._ There are three reasons for this. First of all, I want to develop a slow romance in here, which means that Sakura and Sasuke will first become closer to each other before anything happens between them. The second reason is that I want the story to develop before I run out of ideas for the romance plot. The third one is that I’m a full time perv, so their romance will _definitely_ include sexual content. This story will be at least a high-T and maybe it’ll change to M-rated if things become too graphic. You can imagine that two thirteen year olds might still be a little too young for that kind of stuff. Don’t worry though, it won’t take me _too_ long to get there because there will be some eventual time skips.**

**Now, on with the chapter.**

** CHAPTER 15 **

Team 7 had risen just before dawn and taken off towards the tower. Thankfully, they managed to keep out of trouble on their way, since they had skillfully avoided coming face to face with another team. That deed had been accomplished mainly thanks to Sakura’s sensing abilities and the whole team’s renewed energy and stamina. They got to the tower by noon and were then led to some sort of waiting room, where they found out that they had been the first ones to finish the second phase.

As they waited in the tower for the second phase to end they were at last given some real food. Of course, Naruto had to complain about the fact that they weren’t given ramen, especially seeing that it was supposed to be some kind of reward. Sakura sighed at his antics, but didn’t say anything. On the other hand, Sasuke reprimanded Naruto for being ungrateful and told him that they weren’t being fed as a prize, but in preparation for whatever the next phase entailed.

They all watched as other teams entered the waiting room over the next couple of hours. By the end of the afternoon, the teams that had arrived had been 6 in total. The three Sand siblings, Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, Team Guy and a Team from Amegakure. Sakura noted that there was one less team than last time around – which had been Kabuto’s – and also, instead of the Sound Team there was the one from Ame. If things developed like they had last time around, they would have to make preliminary matches before deciding the final battles.

Finally, their teachers came into the room and led them towards a huge room, in which the Hokage was waiting for them. Things went on pretty much like Sakura remembered them; Sarutobi explained why the chuunin exams were so important for Konoha and their relationship with other villages. Finally, Genma entered the scene and explained that they would have to make a preliminary tournament, since too many applicants had passed the second exam. The first match that was called was Sasuke against one of the Ame shinobi.

Sakura would’ve been worried, but she honestly wasn’t. She actually remembered the Ame team from her past life – they had fought during the second phase – and none of them were good enough to defeat Sasuke in a one-on-one match. Besides, Sasuke was currently in top condition and was still able to use his sharingan and ninjutsu, unlike last time. Needless to say, the battle began and finished just under a minute. Sasuke defeated his opponent’s genjutsu with the help of his sharingan and didn’t even have to use ninjutsu, since he kicked the other nin’s ass with taijutsu. The Ame shinobi admitted defeat after Sasuke gave him a good beating and was about to cast a Fire Style jutsu. He walked back to the gallery, where his teammates were, with his hands in his pockets and a nonchalant attitude.

“Good work, Sasuke.” Sakura’s lips turned into a small smile.

“It was too easy.” Sasuke smirked and Sakura rolled her eyes at his expected cockiness.

“Huh. It was an easy fight.” Naruto said with a bored tone, but his eyes still trained on Sasuke. “Thankfully, because you would’ve lost otherwise.”

Sasuke snorted at his attempt at witty banter and turned to look back to the front.

Shino’s fight was the same as Sakura remembered, as well as Kankuro’s. She quietly sat there as she cast quick glances at Ino, who was sitting with her team not far from her. Soon, Sakura’s name appeared on the screen and, just like last time, she had to fight against Ino. She walked to the center of the arena and looked towards Ino, who was standing in front of her with a smug look on her face. Sakura frowned as their eyes met and the referee started the fight.  Both of them stayed still for a while, until Ino snorted.

"What’s wrong, Forehead? Too scared to move or talk?"

"You wish." Sakura answered with a smirk, knowing that her friend was trying to get a good fight out of her. "For the record, you also seem to be frozen over there."

"I just hadn’t seen your huge forehead in a while. It was hard not to run away from battle at the sight."

"Oh? I think you might've used your mind transfer jutsu without realizing. Because I certainly felt like that for a moment when I first saw you." Sakura the smiled and added. "It’s been a long time since we last met, Ino. Let's not allow so much time to pass again, I need to keep my resistance to ugliness up."

Ino smile honestly at her words and nodded once in agreement. The two of them had been meeting every now and then for over a year, but lately they hadn’t seen much of each other. Sakura had missed their last get together and then the Wave Mission had happened. So it was safe to say that they hadn’t met for almost a month.

"Well, whoever wins this fight gets to have a new set of clothes as a gift." Ino smirked and readied her stance. Cheers from both of their teams, more specifically Choji and Naruto, could be heard from the background.

"Oh, Ino I wouldn’t want to take that from you. Whoever loses gets the clothes." Sakura replied and got her own defense up.

Sakura had decided to win this fight. If she wanted to find Obito or Itachi and keep the ninja world safe, she needed to get out of the village. As a chuunin she would have many more opportunities than as a genin, so she _had_ to pass. Also, things had slowly changed in this timeline - for starters Sasuke hadn’t gotten the cursed mark - and that meant that both Naruto and Sasuke could end up becoming chuunin as well. It would definitely be nice if the three of them could be promoted as a team and keep on doing missions together. The only downside to this plan was that she would have to beat Ino, who she knew was a proud girl. So, in order to keep good relations between them, she had twisted the bet around so that Ino would at least get new clothes, which would definitely brighten her mood.

Ino took out a kunai and threw it at Sakura, who dodged it with no difficulty at all. She decided to allow her friend some time to battle, so she kept on dodging her taijutsu attacks and weapons for a minute or so. Ino's brow furrowed further each passing second and she finally stopped attacking.

"What the hell, Forehead?! Are you looking down on me?!"

Sakura sighed and then dashed at Ino, taking her by surprise. The blonde flipped backwards several times, but Sakura was too fast to out run. She grabbed the kunoichi’s ankle, spun her around and quickly let go. Ino was sent flying towards the edge of the battle area, but managed to land on her feet. Sakura was right on her and sent a strong punch into her gut. Ino coughed a bit and landed on her knees.

When Ino grabbed a kunai and slashed forward, Sakura jumped back a couple meters and furrowed her brow. She didn’t want to beat Ino so easily, since she cared about her feelings and pride. On the other hand, she didn’t want others to think that she was going easy on her and raise any suspicions.

Ino brought her hands together, trying to cast her mind control jutsu on the pinkette. Sakura wasn’t sure if her inner would be able to kick her out, since she didn’t have a presence as dominating as she used to during her previous life. So, Sakura decided to stop her attack and flash stepped out of the way.

Ino gasped and moved her body in order to face Sakura once again. This time, Sakura was faster than before and her punch connected straight with Ino's jaw. Ino landed forcefully on the floor and looked up to see that Sakura was kneeling next to her. Sakura purposefully moved slower than she should’ve, so that Ino had a chance to counterattack. She did, but Sakura blocked her punch and they continued to exchange blows.

Sakura soon decided that the fight had gone on long enough and it would be too obvious if she took any longer to win. She twisted her body at a slightly higher speed and her kick connected squarely with the blonde's jaw. It sent her flying a couple meters and she landed on the floor with a thud. When she didn’t rise again, Sakura and the referee ran her way. As the jonin referee proclaimed Sakura the winner, she was checking her friend’s vital signs. Her jaw had sustained a slightly strong hit, so her cheek was going to swell. As Sakura healed Ino's bruise, she couldn’t help feel guilty, even though she knew that it had been the minimum amount needed to knock her out.

“Ino!” Choji came running her way, followed by Shikamaru, who somehow looked worried despite his signature bored expression.

“She’s all right.” Sakura reassured them. “I healed her already.”

“Ok. We’ll take her-” Shikamaru started, but was interrupted by Sakura.

“I would like to look after her until she wakes up.”

Nobody said anything so Sakura placed Ino’s arm across her shoulders in order to properly support her weight. She walked back to where her teammates were seated and sat Ino down next to her. After about a minute, Ino woke up groggily.

“Ugh…” she looked around for a moment and her eyes finally landed on Sakura. “Forehead.”

“Pig.” Sakura answered curtly and turned to look at her for a moment, before turning her eyes back to the current battle between Tenten and Temari.

“You actually won.” Ino said, turning to look at the battle as well.

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” Sakura’s eyes softened.

“Tch. Don’t be _sorry_! Don’t you _dare_ look down on me, forehead.” Ino scoffed. “The only way I’m ever going to get better is if people fight me with everything they have.”

“Yeah… you’re right.” Sakura nodded and the both of them stared in silence as Temari won her fight. Ino was right about that; she would never become stronger if she faced stronger opponents. Sakura knew that she herself had stayed behind her teammates because they had always been protecting her and she had only started getting better once they left. Now that she had fought against Ino, who supposedly was just as strong as she had been in her previous life, Sakura realized just _how_ weak she had been. If she were to assess her previous strength compared to her teammates, she would have to say that she had been only half as good as they had. That also meant that Ino had a long way to go, but Sakura remembered that she had also become stronger and that fact put her mind at ease.

“You were actually going easy on me, weren’t you?” Ino spoke softly, and Sakura realized that those words caught the attention of Sasuke, who was sitting on the other side of her. He didn’t look their way, as not to seem rude, but she felt him shift slightly in their direction as he listened to their conversation.

“Er… yeah, a bit.” Sakura smiled apologetically. “I didn’t want you to feel bad about-”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Ino smirked. “I need to know how strong I _really_ am in order to become stronger.”

“I know. I won’t do it again.” Sakura smirked back.

“Jeez, when did you even get this strong?” Ino complained and frowned. “I really do have a long way to go.”

“If you want, I can-”

“No way!” Ino interrupted her, knowing exactly what she was going to say. “I don’t want _your_ help, Forehead. I will get stronger on my own, and I will defeat you. You better remember that.”

“I will look forward to that, Pig.” Sakura smirked and then looked back to Naruto’s fight. He was going against Kiba, just like last time. But she decided that he seemed to be doing slightly better this time around. It didn’t help her to ease the slight worry that had built in her gut when she imagined how he would feel if she and Sasuke passed and he didn’t. She was wondering if their new team dynamic had helped him become a better shinobi when Ino brought her out of her thoughts.

“Also, I will win Sasuke-kun over.” she swung her blond hair back and leaned her body to take a look at the now clearly uncomfortable Uchiha. “You might _claim_ not to have an interest in him anymore, but he clearly is more comfortable around you than me. That will change, too.”

“Er…” Sakura fidgeted in her seat for a moment and looked at Sasuke for a moment, who was intently looking _away_ from the two girls at his side. However, the tense set to his shoulders gave away his discomfort.

“Also.” Ino said and as she stood up. “I expect you to pay your debt and buy me a new set of clothes.”

“Hai, hai.” Sakura waved her off, but smiled nonetheless.

Ino was soon back with her team and Sakura turned her attention back to Naruto’s fight. He was definitely going to win this time as well, so Sakura was able to relax her slightly tense muscles.

“I didn’t mean to snap like that.” Sasuke mumbled lowly, but Sakura clearly heard him.

“Huh?” Sakura frowned for a moment and turned to look at him. She wondered if his words had anything to do with what Ino had just said, but that didn’t  make any sense. “What do you mean?”

“Back then, when we were discussing what to do with the Sound shinobi.” Sasuke averted his eyes, but continued speaking. “I didn’t have to react like that.”

“Oh.” Sakura remembered now and her heart warmed. Uchiha Sasuke was never _openly_ sorry for anything, and those words would probably be the closest thing to an apology she would ever hear from him. “It doesn’t matter. I know why you did it.”

“You do?” Sasuke looked into her eyes for a moment.

“Yeah.” Sakura said in almost a whisper. “You don’t want to face that Snake guy ever again. You didn’t want to risk anything that might put you in danger.”

“Not just me, Sakura. You too.” Sasuke lowly said and narrowed his eyes. His hand caught Sakura’s wrist and he tightened his hold a bit. “I _still_ think we made a bad decision back there. Who the hell was that snake guy anyways? Would the Hokage even be capable of defeating him? I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as strong as him. I think you are taking this subject _way_ too lightly, Sakura.”

“I’m not…” Sakura sighed. “I _do_ think that we need to do something about-”

“Hey, guys!” Naruto stepped closer to them and sat next to Sasuke. “I kicked ass, didn’t I?”

“Congrats, Naruto.” Sakura smiled at him, unconsciously remembering the fight she had half-watched.

“Hn.” Sasuke nodded and then motioned for Naruto to lean closer, which he did. “We’re discussing what we should do about the Sound shinobi team and the strong shinobi we faced back in the Forest of Death.”

“Oh.” Naruto nodded fervently. “Should we tell the Hokage? It does seem like the kind of thing which he should be aware of, right?”

“I agree.” Sasuke pointed out and then both boys turned to look at Sakura.

Sakura gulped for a moment and looked down at her hands. Of course they would want to go to the Hokage to tell him about Orochimaru; it was the safest and most responsible decision. However, Sakura didn’t want to even _risk_ making the Hokage suspicious. She wanted to try and find another way to keep them safe, but she couldn’t think of a good excuse.

“Wouldn’t Lord Hokage have us drop out of the chuunin exams?” Sakura whispered.

“Huh? Why?” Naruto asked.

“I see your point.” Sasuke nodded. “You think that he might deem it safer for us to not attend and stay somewhere secure. However, during the third phase the most secure place in the whole village _will_ be the exam site itself. Most of the village’s security and high rank shinobi will be guarding the place or watching the tournament. So I don’t think he would make us leave the exams.”

“ _Who_ cares about that?” Naruto hissed. “Even if there’s a chance that he might withdraw us from the exam, that’s now what matters now. Sakura-chan, that guy wanted to _kill_ you and he is stronger than I ever imagined anyone could be. Apart from that, he wants something of Sasuke too, so it’s safe to say that most of our team is in danger. I wouldn’t mind having to take the chuunin exam again if it meant that both of you would be safe.”

“All right.” Sakura said and inwardly sighed in defeat, knowing that their arguments were solid. She couldn’t just tell them about her time traveling mission, at least not so soon anyways. “We should go talk to him after the preliminaries end, agreed?”

Sasuke and Naruto nodded at her and the three of them turned their attention back to Neji and Hinata’s battle, which made Sakura deeply angry. She knew all about Neji’s struggles within the clan, and she knew that their rules were fucked up, but she couldn’t help but feel that it was completely unfair for him to take it all out on Hinata. Naruto kept cheering for Hinata, which was kind of sweet and seemed to give Hinata more confidence. Sadly, she lost anyways, and Naruto immediately went to her side. Sakura would’ve too if it weren’t for the fact that Lee and Gaara’s battle was announced. Lee walked down the stairs not far from her and she violently stood up to go to him, but someone caught her wrist to stop her.

“What’s wrong?” Sasuke asked.

“I- I just want to say something to Lee.” Sakura said.

Sasuke frowned at that, but finally released her wrist and allowed her to go. Sakura finally got to the stair just as Lee was walking past her.

“Lee!”

“Oh! Sakura-san! Are you here to cheer me on?” he smiled brightly.

“Not exactly.” Sakura whispered hastily. “I feel that something’s out of place with Gaara… he seems too strong. Don’t push yourself too far.”

“No way.” Lee determinately answered. “I will never back down from a battle.”

“Wait, Lee-” Sakura said but was left with the words on her mouth, since he proceeded to keep on walking down the stairs and into the battle. Sakura looked down at where Gaara was standing and their eyes met for a moment. She could feel the coldness radiating off of him and wondered how deeply the Gaara she knew was buried within this younger Gaara. Her shoulders dropped in defeat and then went back to sit with Sasuke. He stayed quiet for a moment and then spoke without looking at her.

“You seem worried.”

“It’s just that… something seems off about Gaara.”  Sakura said. “Don’t you remember when we first met them before the exams started?”

“How could I forget?” Sasuke slightly narrowed his eyes. “That killing intent was _not_ normal.”

“I hope that he lives through this battle.” Sakura whispered and crossed her fingers in front of her face as they started fighting. Naruto sat next to them on the floor and soon the whole audience was silent; they all felt the tension in the air.

The battle between Gaara and Lee quickly grew more intense causing the tension in the audience to rise, since this was by far the most brutal battle yet. Lee seemed to notice that he would not get anywhere by regular means, so he used his signature jutsu to open his chakra gates. Everyone was surprised at his great display of power, but even more so when Gaara continued to fight. The Sand shinobi became even more vicious than before, his whole face twisting into a mad and cruel expression. He raised his hand and his sand moved closer to Lee and captured him. Unlike last time, his sand enclosed around not only an arm and a leg, but also around a part of his lower torso. Sakura’s eye widened and, knowing what would happen next, she stood suddenly.

“Sabaku Kyū.” Gaara spoke and Lee’s scream echoed through the hall.

“Lee!” Sakura called and jumped into the arena.

“Sakura-chan!!!” “Sakura!” Naruto and Sasuke called her back, probably worried about her entering the arena with Gaara present.

Sakura paid them no mind and threw one glance towards the referee, who immediately stepped forward and called the fight to an end. Of course, Gaara was taking none of it, and he sent his sand towards Lee yet again. Sakura landed next to Lee’s side and crouched down next to him. She cursed when she realized that his spine had probably been fractured, which meant she couldn’t risk moving him out of the way. She stood up and faced Gaara’s approaching sand, readying her own chakra for a water style jutsu to render his sand useless. She steadily looked into Gaara’s eyes, willing him to stop attacking. However, before the sand could come closer to her, Gai appeared in front of her and dispersed the sand away with a burst of chakra. Sakura sighed in relief and immediately turned around to face Lee to see that he was looking at her through half lidded eyes.

“S-Sakura-san…” he whispered.

“Don’t speak.” She commanded, as her inner medic began to take control. Lee looked at her for another moment before losing consciousness. Sakura faintly noticed two other medical shinobi crouch next to her and move their hands in order to lift Lee and place him on a stretcher. She practically slapped their hands away and snapped. “Stop! Don’t you see that his spine has been severely damaged?!!”

She quickly sent healing chakra into her hands and allowed them to pass over Lee’s body. Three of his vertebrae – L3, L2 and T10 – had been completely crushed. If it were a mid-ranked medic nin, they would have trouble fixing this on the spot, and probably a more experienced one would have trouble saving his spine it if he were to be moved to the hospital. Sakura took a deep breath in, deciding that she was not going to risk Lee becoming a cripple, so she immediately placed her green glowing hands on his sides. Thankfully, this was a slightly easy procedure for her, seeing as she had successfully completed the most complicated procedures and more during her past life. Nonetheless, she tried to fake effort and did the work in a slower manner, knowing that it wouldn’t affect Lee’s recovery as long as nobody moved him. Since Sakura was focusing so much on her work and trying to guess how long she should actually take to heal him, she didn’t notice how some of the people around had approached them in silence. Ten minutes later, the crushed bones had mended back together into their proper shape in order to fit with the rest of Lee’s vertebrae. She then moved her hands to his arm and leg to partially heal them as well.

_I already kind of exposed some of my abilities anyways._

“He’s fine now.” Sakura said when she finished fixing the worst part of the damage. “He still needs some treatment, but he will be all right.”

“How did you pull off that kind of medical procedure?”

At those words, she turned around and saw the medic nins’ dumbfounded expressions. In the background, some of the genin were staring at her in awe. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were also there, but had a slightly proud look on their faces. Sakura’s eyes moved a bit further and saw that Shikamaru was sitting further away and looking at her. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he examined her thoroughly. Sakura gulped and turned her gaze back to the medic team that had been assigned to the exams.

“I’ve been practicing for a long time.” Sakura simply answered. “He still needs attention though.”

Both medic nins shared a look, but said nothing and slowly moved Lee onto the stretcher. As they left, Genma called everybody back to the sidelines and announced that the last fight would now take place. Team 7 went back to their previous spot and the three of them stayed silent as Choji fought the remaining Amegakure shinobi.

Sakura’s mind barely registered Choji’s win. She was absolutely frightened by now, her head filled with worries about being exposed. Maybe she could still get away with it if she played her cards right or if she was really lucky. Or, maybe her luck would be as horrible as Tsunade-shishou’s and the Hokage would become suspicious of her. If that was the case, then she would be taken in for interrogation. And thus, Sasuke’s probable bright new future would be destroyed by the corrupt council… again. Sakura didn’t really regret her decision of saving Lee’s mobility, but that didn’t make her feel any less anxious. Sakura was so caught up in her own what-if scenarios she didn’t notice that everyone was standing until Naruto shook her arm.

“Come on, Sakura-chan.” Naruto softly said with a confused frown on his face. He locked eyes with her, and she immediately knew that he was wondering what she could have been thinking about so intently. Thankfully, he didn’t ask.

Every genin that had passed the preliminary fights had been instructed to stand in formation in front of the Hokage. He briefly explained that the third phase would happen a month from then and they were asked to draw lots to decide the match-ups. When the numbers were written down and the chart was shown to them, Sakura drew in a sharp breath. She didn’t know if it was a good turn of events or not, but she certainly was glad that at least Sasuke would be safe. She quickly read through the matches listed.

Sasuke v/s Kankuro

Shino v/s Choji

Sakura v/s Gaara

Temari v/a Shikamaru

Naruto v/s Neji

Sakura felt Naruto shift next to her and then immediately felt his eyes upon her. She turned to look at him to see that he was frowning at her.

“I still got to fight that Neji bastard, but you really have _horrible_ luck.” He said. “I was hoping none of us had to fight Gaara.”

“You could always forfeit, Sakura.” Sasuke said with a serious face. “I don’t think anyone can win a one on one match against Gaara.”

“Thankfully I don’t need to win to pass the exam. Remember what the Hokage said; the promotion will have nothing to do with who wins, but with how we confront our opponents.” Sakura reassured briefly – although inwardly she wasn’t so confident – and turned to look back at the Hokage.

The Hokage immediately excused them out of the room and everyone turned to leave except for team 7, who stayed behind to talk to the Hokage as previously planned. Sakura nervously fidgeted as the three of them neared their leader. If she had been slightly concerned about this before, she was truly worried now that he had seen her display of medical ninjutsu. They came to a stop in front of him and his eyes trailed over each genin, finally landing on Sakura.

“It’s good to see that a young shinobi is excelling in medical ninjutsu. It’s a field that always has a shortage of people.” The Hokage looked at Sakura and then his eyes traveled towards Kakashi, who had just come to a stop next to the three genin. “Who taught her these abilities?”

“When I received her on my team she already knew the basics, sir.” Kakashi answered politely. “It seems that she’s been learning on her own long before she graduated from the academy.”

“Interesting.” Sarutobi said. “It seems that you have an extraordinary team, Kakashi. Despite how good a shinobi you are, I hadn’t really expect you to teach them so well since you’d been so against becoming a teacher.”

“Well, what can I say. I kinda grew fond of them.” Kakashi shrugged.

“Or maybe they were just too good on their own.” He laughed and then turned to the three genin. “So, what exactly brings you before me?”

“Sir.” Sakura immediately stepped forward to explain, since she wanted to keep his suspicions to a minimum. “In the forest of Death, we were attacked by an incredibly strong ninja. He didn’t seem to be a genin at all… we actually believe he was just as strong as you, sir.” Sakura said and Sarutobi raised his eyebrows. “For some reason, he seemed to have some kind of weird interest in Sasuke.”

“What else can you tell me about this man?” the Hokage questioned.

“He had the likeness of a snake and also used snake summons to attack. He was pale and had bright green eyes, if I remember correctly.” Sasuke added and the Hokage’s eyes widened in recognition.

“I believe you are talking about Orochimaru, who was once a Konoha nin but is now an S-Class criminal. How come you’re alive? What did he want from you?” He narrowed his eyes and Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at Sakura, willing her to explain since she’d be the one awake.

“Eh… when I got to them Naruto was out cold, so I helped Sasuke fight the snake nin. Not long after, Sasuke was knocked out as well, so I was left on my own against that man. He was only playing around with us, but he still managed to injure me a lot within a short amount of time. I really thought we were done for… but then something happened.” Sakura said, and smartly tried to change to focus of the conversation towards Naruto. She took a short glance at him and he nodded, allowing her to speak. “Naruto woke up really angry and a huge orange bubbly chakra surrounded him. Orochimaru – that was his name, right? – seemed really wary of it because he immediately left. Naruto seemed to calm down after that, but passed out due to the wounds resulting from the strange orange chakra. I healed him with what little chakra I had left and immediately after I blacked out.”

“Hm… you were quite lucky, young ones.” Sarutobi closed his eyes in thought. “If it weren’t for Naruto’s interference, you would’ve probably been killed.”

“There’s something else.” Naruto spoke up. “The day after that encounter, a team of Sound nin surrounded us. They claimed that the snake guy had sent them to get Sakura-chan.”

“Hm? Really?” Sarutobi scratched his chin in thought and his eyes trailed towards Sakura. She inwardly flinched, since she had expected to avoid exposing that part to keep a lower profile. “I guess that something needs to be done in this regard. I will have the security tightened until the exams are over and I will also put two ANBU to watch over the three of you at night.”

“Excuse me, Hokage-sama.” Sakura asked. “Only two ANBU for the three of us?”

“Considering that I’ll have to put more people into the security of the village, I will only have two spare ANBU for this guard detail.” He answered. “The three of you will have to stay together for the next month. Tell me where you will be sleeping so I may inform the ANBU.”

Team 7 quietly discussed the matter for a couple moments. They finally agreed on staying at Sasuke’s place, since Naruto’s was too small for the three of them and Sakura firmly refused to risk Orochimaru getting anywhere near her parents. After informing the Hokage, he dismissed them and three of them quietly nodded. They thanked the Hokage for his help and walked away.

“What was all that about?” Sasuke turned around to face his teammates when they exited the building. “How come I didn’t know about that orange chakra thing?”

“Oh.” Sakura eyed Naruto for a moment. “It’s not my secret to tell.”

“Well…” Doubt flickered on Naruto’s face and, after looking around for a while to make sure nobody was listening to their conversation, he spoke in a low voice. “I hope you don’t freak out about this, teme. Also, I believe this is some sort of village secret, so you cannot tell anyone, all right?” Sasuke nodded and the blonde continued. “You have heard about the tailed beasts, haven’t you? Well… I… err… I’m the container of the nine tailed beast.”

“ _What?_ ” Sasuke’s eyes widened in disbelief. “The Kyuubi? The one that attacked the village thirteen years ago?”

“Yeah.” Naruto sighed and passed a hand through his hair. “I was born that exact day so they sealed it inside of me to prevent it from completely destroying the village. Back in the Forest of Death I totally lost my cool when I saw how injured Sakura-chan looked… so it kinda took control of me, apparently. I don’t really remember any of it, though. Sakura-chan told me about it.”

“That’s… a lot to digest.” Sasuke was in deep thought for a moment and then looked up to Naruto once again. “How come only Sakura knew about this?”

“I only told her last night when her watch ended.” Naruto hurriedly said and then the silence stretched for a moment. “You don’t hate me now, do you?”

“ _Now_ I understand why people give you weird glances.” Sasuke said and then smirked at Naruto. “But to me you’re still the same idiot I’ve known all this time.”

Naruto beamed at the raven haired teen and Sakura herself released a breath she’d been unconsciously holding. She knew she shouldn’t have worried, but she still wondered what would happen if Sasuke took the news in a wrong way. They heard someone’s footsteps and turned to see that Kakashi had exited the building as well.

“So, this is definitely an interesting turn of events.” he said when he came to a stop next to them and tapped his chin in thought. “I believe that we need to take a different course of action now. First of all, Sasuke and Sakura are being targeted by Orochimaru, so I think you will need to stay with a highly skilled jonin during the day.” He then turned to look at Sakura. “Sakura, you will be facing Gaara a month from now, which is honestly quite disturbing. You will have to develop a strategy for that and train a lot.”

“I agree.” Sakura nodded.

“You mentioned that the two of us will have to spend our days with a jonin.” Sasuke said. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, one of those jonin would definitely be me. But the three of you will have to train individually for your matches, so we will need at least one other jonin.” The white haired jonin answered.

“I think that you should be the one to train Sasuke.” Sakura added, hoping that Sasuke would learn the chidori with Kakashi during that time. “The both of you have the sharingan, so it makes sense that you train him.”

“I agree.” Kakashi hummed for a moment. “I still haven’t thought about anyone to train Naruto, so it’ll have to wait for a day or two. But I actually have someone in mind to train you, Sakura. Someone I know won’t refuse now that you’ve become Orochimaru’s target.”

“Who?” Sakura slightly widened her eyes when she asked. She knew that most jonin were known for being slightly eccentric and honestly hoped that whoever he had in mind would be someone amiable. After all, she would be spending a whole month with this person. She wasn’t at all expecting who Kakashi had in mind and almost groaned when he said the name.

“Mitarashi Anko.”

**A/N: OK!** **Here you go. Chapter 15 (already!). I hope that you enjoyed it and please, as usual, let me know what you thought of it.**

**Thank you all for reviewing and stuff.**

**Special thanks to my beta MonochromeAce!**

 

 


	16. Unexpected Arrival

** CHAPTER 16 **

Sakura was a bit apprehensive of sleeping in the same room as Sasuke and Naruto after their encounter with Orochimaru. She was certain that she would have at least one nightmare regarding the snake sannin and Sasuke’s betrayal. She knew that they wouldn’t mind her having any nightmares, but she also wouldn’t know what to tell them if she revealed anything about her past life while sleeping. So, as soon as they got to Sasuke’s place, Sakura turned to speak to them about the sleeping arrangements.

“Sasuke, how many room’s does your place have?”

“That one’s my room and the one on the corner is a spare one... Why?” he eyed her suspiciously, probably figuring where she was going with that.

“I would like to sleep alone.” She said.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto exclaimed. “What if Orochimaru comes after us at night? We need to stick together!”

“I agree with Naruto.” Sasuke said. “It’s too risky.”

“ _Two_ ANBU will be guarding during nights, so if anything happens we will have time to wake up and gather in one place.” She said

“Still, it would be safer for you to sleep with us.” Naruto added.

“Well, I _am_ a girl. I do need some privacy.” Sakura said and both boys looked at her skeptically. She didn’t want this to drag out any further, so she added. “Especially if it’s for a _whole_ month.”

Naruto almost choked on his own spit and immediately felt embarrassed. He didn’t say anything further, nodded hastily and moved away to _rearrange_ some of his stuff. Sakura inwardly smirked in victory; young teens were always so easily flustered when this subject came up. Her inner smirk vanished when her eyes met Sasuke’s, who was looking at her straight in the eye.

“I don’t care about that.” He flatly said. Sakura almost flinched at his hard tone, immediately realizing that he was not at all fazed by her implication. “It’s your _life_ we’re talking about, Sakura. As a shinobi, do you really have room for such predicaments when your life is at stake?”

“It would probably be awkward for _all_ of us, right?” Sakura added. Actually, she still hadn’t had her period in this timeline, but the boys didn’t need to know that.

“I don’t mind.” Sasuke plainly said and then, even to Sakura’s dismay, added. “It wouldn’t be the first time I saw blood.”

“Teme!” Naruto jerked up from his bag with an appalled expression on his face. “Sakura _is_ a girl and definitely needs to have some privacy! Don’t talk to her so lightly about such subjects!” Naruto finished his sentence with a deep blush on his face and then hastily left the living room to enter Sasuke’s bedroom.

“I still don’t agree with this.” Sasuke crossed his arms stubbornly. “I think that it’s not a good enough reason when _Orochimaru_ is targeting you.”

“I’m sure that it won’t make a difference.”

“You don’t know that.” Sasuke said. “It was _Naruto_ who actually drove him away last time.”

“And if anything happens I will find you guys immediately.” Sakura said and then her eyes narrowed slightly. “And now we’re dropping the subject. You’re not changing my mind on this.”

Sasuke slightly scowled at her and she could almost hear the deep growl on his throat. If there was anyone in the village that didn’t like being shut up, it was definitely Sasuke. Thankfully, he seemed to realize that this was a personal decision of Sakura’s and clicked his tongue.

“Tch. Whatever. It’s your business anyway.” He said and followed Naruto into the bedroom.

That day, they didn’t eat dinner and went straight to bed. After all, they had just finished the first two phases of the chunin exam, along with the preliminaries for the third phase, and were completely worn out. Sakura laid down on her bed and watched the ceiling for a while. She didn’t like getting into arguments with Sasuke, but she was not going to concede on this, even when she was actually glad that he went out of his way to try to keep her safe. Sakura’s mind soon forgot about the young Uchiha and trailed off to another subject that had been bugging her ever since they left the exam building. Even as she fell asleep, Sakura couldn’t help but be slightly anxious about her upcoming training with her temporary jonin teacher.

**-x-**

Sakura had been trained by Tsunade in her past life, who was known for her overall strong character and severity when it came to training. Nonetheless, none of that could have possibly prepared Sakura for Anko’s ruthlessness. Not only did she have little patience, but she also continually pushed Sakura to her breaking point. Thankfully, Sakura’s stamina and raw strength was above practically any genin level shinobi, and Anko had at least acknowledged that. However, she had claimed that in order to be able to stand up to Gaara or Orochimaru, she needed to be _much_ stronger.

Sakura had always relied too much on her chakra to enhance her strength and speed, and she had always known that it could someday backfire on her. Anko was particularly good at speed, so she had decided to train Sakura in a way  that would improve her physical speed. Also, she was an expert at genjutsu – Sakura couldn’t think of anyone as good as Anko, apart from sharingan users. So the older woman had decided to polish Sakura’s genjutsu as well. Of course, the pinkette hadn’t showed her true genjutsu abilities to Anko, because there was absolutely no way a thirteen year old genin could’ve learned that _and_ medical ninjutsu by herself. So Sakura had been lowering her skills, which didn’t mean that she wouldn’t learn anything from the older jonin. Apart from that, Anko was a truly versed poison specialist – maybe the best in the village – especially since she’d trained under Orochimaru. Being a medic nin that had trained under Tsunade, Sakura was quite good at poisons, but she could always learn something else from the tokubetsu jonin. Anko was also a tracking specialist, so that subject would also be a part of their training.

Sakura was glad that her training with Anko involved little to no chakra at all, since she would head off to work at the hospital in the afternoon. It was something she would’ve forgotten about, after the whole deal with the chunin exams, if Kakashi hadn’t reminded her that he had already talked to the head medic so that she was allowed to work for a couple of hours every day. She had been pretty excited to start working there after a couple years away from it. However, Sakura hadn’t expected people to recognize her the first day of work. Apparently, word of her intervention with Lee back at the preliminaries had spread and everyone knew about her already. The head medic even asked her to demonstrate some of her skills on a patient as soon as she walked through the doors. Sakura thought about declining his offer, but decided that she had already shown some ability and it would seem weird for her to act as if she was a complete amateur. He was impressed and had immediately asked her to do medium level interventions instead of watching basic procedures. Sakura was called a genius by many medic nins and even people outside of the health profession talked about her.

Needless to say, Sakura was under a lot of pressure. Apart from her new job at the hospital, improving her speed and genjutsu, along with learning about poisons and tracking skills there was a _lot_ to have on her plate. Sakura wouldn’t only have to train with Anko for seven hours straight and work for two or three hours at the hospital, but she also had to come home to do whatever research Anko asked of her.

Sasuke had been training really hard with Kakashi, which meant that the jonin had actually started taking his job as a teacher more seriously. Sasuke even mentioned with slight surprise that he was barely late now and had been pushing him almost to the point of exhaustion. It seemed that Kakashi had found the whole ordeal with Orochimaru quite unsettling, because Sakura knew him to only be on time for really important occasions.

On the other hand, Naruto had met Jiraiya while the sage was peeking on a women’s bathhouse. Apparently, he had recognized Naruto, because in the end he had decided to train him for the next month until the third phase of the exam. Naruto had at first complained how the old man had no shame looking at young women while they bathed and writing porn. Sakura had almost flinched at his words, because she had been secretly enjoying his writing for _years_. She couldn’t help it, really; he was truly gifted when it came to erotic literature. Of all people, she had unconsciously expected Naruto to be more open about it, but his behavior was to be expected considering his still young age.

Since the whole team’s agenda was filled with individual training, they barely saw each other even though they were living together. Thankfully, Sasuke seemed to quickly forget their small disagreement from the first day of their new living arrangements, so the whole atmosphere was pretty relaxed amongst them. It made the little time that they spent together – which was at dinner – quite enjoyable. Sakura had insisted that they cooked their own food, pointing out that it was ridiculous for a shinobi not to have basic cooking skills. Of course, both of them were completely hopeless at first. On one hand, Sasuke only knew how to cook rice and tomato soup and, on the other hand, Naruto only knew how to pour hot water on instant ramen. Sakura managed to convince them that it truly was unbelievable that didn’t know anything about cooking, so they decided to cook dinner together every evening.

Sakura wasn’t an especially gifted cook, since she hadn’t invested much time on it in her previous life due to her tight schedule, but she could defend herself and cook something edible. Even though she had said that cooking would teach them an important skill, her real purpose was to get them to start eating healthier from now on.

Apart from all of that, during the time the three of them cooked they really did have a lot of fun. While they cooked and ate together at night, they seemed almost like a regular group of friends having a get together. Even Sasuke seemed to be slightly more talkative during those times, meaning that he had become used to his teams presence at his place. Naruto had been the complete opposite; he spoke slightly less and was more willing to listen to other people, which meant he wasn’t feeling the constant need to prove himself in front of Sasuke. Sakura decided that Naruto’s behavior in Sasuke’s presence was now that same that it had been when she was alone with him. Sakura never thought she’d ever be thankful for Orochimaru’s intervention, but she somehow was.

Sakura had put a lot of thought into Orochimaru for days. He hadn’t made an appearance for almost a week and she had been on edge ever since the second exam finished. One day after dinner, she decided to put her mind wholeheartedly into the snake sanin subject. She thought for a long while, trying to put herself in his place as much as she could, and finally came to a conclusion. If her assumptions were correct, he wouldn’t come anywhere near them until the chunin exams were over. She’d come to that conclusion based on three premises. The first was that he had noticed how good she was with poisons and he wouldn’t want to risk getting his body weakened before the attack on the village. The second was that, on top of her own presence, Naruto was there too, which could very well be seen as an obstacle. The third was that if he were to attack with the help of Sand shinobi – since the sound assembly had left due to his members no longer participating – and one of the two ANBU were to leak that intel out, then his whole plan would be exposed. And so, Sakura had decided that Orochimaru’s most probable course of action would be to avoid getting into any trouble at least until the invasion. And that notion helped her calm down at least a little bit.

However, Sakura had been struggling with something else too for the past several days that they’d been crashing at Sasuke’s place. When she had announced that she would have to stay at her teammate’s house for a whole month, her parents had been kind of alarmed. Sakura had to explain that they’d come across some trouble with shinobi from another village during the second phase and that staying together was an order from the Hokage himself in order to keep them safe. In the end, they reluctantly agreed to it, but had demanded that she come over for dinner at least every couple days, to which she immediately agreed. Sakura and her parents had always had a very good relationship and it had only been enhanced when she traveled back in time. As a child, she hadn’t really valued her parents and had usually brushed them aside. After losing them, she had realized how important they were to her and had devoted almost all of her free time to spending it with them.

Sadly, she couldn’t leave Sasuke’s place by herself at night, since they were supposed to be under the guard of the two ANBU. She’d told her parents that her teammates would have to come over as well and they even seemed to like the idea of finally meeting her team. However, Sakura wasn’t feeling too comfortable with the idea of having Sasuke and Naruto at her place. Sasuke was a pretty serious and polite teen, so she didn’t think he would be much trouble. She was much more worried about Naruto, since he was loud, _too_ talkative _and_ he was the Kyuubi’s Jinchuriki.  

At least both of them hadn’t been against the idea of dining at her place when she’d brought it up. Well, Sasuke of course hadn’t seemed _excited_ about it like Naruto, but he had understood that she would want to see her family every once in a while. So after five days of eating at Sasuke’s, they were headed towards Sakura’s house.

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried real home cooked food!” Naruto said and beamed. “I can’t wait!”

“What do you call what we’ve been making with Sakura, dobe?” Sasuke retorted, completely ignoring that Naruto’s comment was kind of sad.

“Oh. Well, it is good to eat something aside from instant food… but I really don’t think I’ve tried anything better than ramen yet!” he replied.

“Food at my place is great. Actually my mother’s not the only one to cook. My father cooks sometimes as well and he’s also really good at it.” Sakura smiled. “My cooking can’t really be compared to theirs.”

“I think you’re a pretty good cook, Sakura-chan.” Naruto gave her a thumbs up.

“Besides, you have plenty of time to learn.” Sasuke shrugged. “I still don’t think that shinobi need to polish their cooking skills. The basics should be enough.”

Sakura sweatdropped at his expected practical comment and looked up when they got to her door step. Sasuke and Naruto came to a stop behind her and she knocked on the door a couple times.

“Hello.” Sakura’s mother opened the door almost immediately. “I’m Haruno Mebuki. Please come in.”

She cleared the way to them to enter and, after Sakura lead the way, her eyes were trained on her two teammates. Both of them gulped a bit under her harsh stare and fidgeted a bit in place. Sakura noticed how Mebuki’s eyes lingered a bit longer on Naruto, probably recognizing him as the ‘demon kid’. Luckily, she didn’t say anything and simply motioned for them to enter the living room.

“Finally!” the cheerful voice of a man called and the three of them turned to look at Sakura’s father, who was walking up to greet them. “I’m Kizashi. Sakura’s told us so much about the two of you!”

“Really?” Sasuke said and lifted an eyebrow at his pink-haired teammate.

“Well, why wouldn’t she?” Kizashi arm circled strongly around Sasuke and Naruto’s necks and the young Uchiha shifted uncomfortably at the unexpected physical contact. “The three of you have been spending _every_ day together for the past six months.”

“You are distressing our guests, Kizashi.” Mebuki deadpanned as she tapped her husband’s shoulder.

“Oh, sorry about that.” He beamed and took a step back. “Haruno genes are quite affectionate, but I can imagine that you already know that.”

“Not really.” Sakura rolled her eyes as her father laughed loudly and then looked at her mother. “Can I help with anything?”

“No, dinner’s already served.” She said and led them to another room. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

The five of them sat down around the table and started eating the food that Sakura’s parents had prepared. The boys’ eyes widened slightly at the first bite and Sakura immediately knew that they’d liked it. At first, Mebuki asked a bit about how they were doing with their training for the third phase of the chunin exam. She was probably trying to delay her husband’s teasing from getting out of hand, but of course that was bound to happen sometime anyway. Naruto started talking about how strong Jiraiya was and how much good his training had done for him. Of course, Naruto being as clueless as always, started complaining about his sensei’s sexual interests. Sakura inwardly groaned and Sasuke kept throwing disapproving glances at him, which the blonde of course didn’t notice. Thankfully, opposing to her mother’s seriousness, Sakura’s father was rather casual about practically _every_ subject.

“Sooooo…” he started as soon as there was a silence in Naruto’s speech. “You three _are_ teenagers after all. So I guess that having a hentai teacher can’t be _that_ bad. You will have to learn something about those subjects one day after all.”

“But not with _him_. Ew.” Naruto shuddered. “I don’t think I even want to learn such things yet.”

“What about you?” Kizashi’s eyes trailed over to Sasuke who shifted awkwardly in his seat. “You should have some interest in that, right? If I remember correctly, you _are_ pretty popular amongst girls.”

“We _do_ have a hentai teacher. Kakashi always goes around with a porn book.” Sasuke pointed out and Sakura was almost surprised that he answered back with more than one word. He actually managed to divert the focus of the conversation away from him and towards their sensei.

“Oh yeah!” Naruto cut in. “The author is actually Jiraiya!”

“That’s an interesting fact.” Mebuki spoke for the first time after a while and eyed Naruto curiously. “Is that a coincidence or is he famous?”

“He’s pretty famous it seems.” Naruto scratched his chin in though. “I think the series’ name is Icha Icha Paradise of something like that.”

“Ohhhh.” Kizashi’s eyes shone in recognition and then locked with his wife’s in a knowing manner. “We _do_ know the books.”

“Dad!” Sakura’s eyes widened and he almost _giggled_ at her in a teasing manner. She slapped her forehead and groaned in dismay. Not only did she _and_ her parents enjoy the same porn literature – which was already terrible on its own – but now her teammates knew about it as well. 

“Well, Sakura wouldn’t really remember, but she once came across one of our copies a long time ago.” He pointed out laughing and even _Mebuki_ snickered at Sakura’s side, clearly recalling the memory as well. “She must’ve been around five when we found her frowning upon one of the illustrations.”

“We had to tell her that the pictures were of people wrestling on a hot summer day.” Mebuki added with a small smile when Kizashi’s laughter didn’t allow him to keep on speaking.

“Now that I think about it... maybe that’s why she chose a career as a kunoichi.” Sakura’s father and everyone laughed at his joke.

And so, Sakura was reminded why she hadn’t usually brought friends over to her place. She really liked spending time with her parents – she loved them and they were truly fun to be around – but they didn’t really have any tact when it came to sharing secrets, especially her father. The rest of the evening was spent by everyone laughing at Sakura’s _memorable_ childhood events and Kizashi’s eventual teasing to her two teammates. However, now that she was older and didn’t really care about being teased, she really couldn’t bring herself to regret inviting them to her home.

By the end of the evening, the boys seemed to relax a lot around her parents and Naruto even joked back while Sasuke laughed a little more freely. Sakura’s worries about her parents’ reactions towards Naruto had been completely forgotten when she noticed how open they were with him. When they left, Sakura’s parents insisted that they come back in a couple days, since they didn’t want to go without seeing Sakura for so long. To Sakura’s surprise, even Sasuke seemed to easily agree to the invitation. As they walked back to Sasuke’s place – closely followed by their ANBU guards – both boys told her that they’d had a really good time. Sakura knew that they didn’t have a family – no one at all – and at that moment she honestly couldn’t care less about her slight uneasiness during dinner. As long as she saw them honestly laugh with happiness and joy, it didn’t really matter.

**-x-**

Sakura had actually grown fond of Anko. Sakura and Anko would train all morning long - from 7 am to 2 pm - and then grab lunch together. Whenever they weren’t training, Anko would step out of her ruthless character and become much more relaxed. She sometimes reminded Sakura of the old Naruto; obnoxious, extroverted and with a great sense of humor. Sakura even allowed her pervy side to make dirty jokes every once in a while, knowing that Anko wouldn’t judge her for it.  Instead, she would laugh her ass off and say that she had the mind of a grown woman like herself. Sakura would simply laugh that off and keep on talking to her, completely ignoring her remark. It really felt good to have someone around her age to talk to after such a long time – Sakura’s real age was nineteen while Anko’s was twenty-three.

After weeks of intensive training, Anko had finally acknowledged Sakura's abilities. She said she hadn’t even _heard_ of a thirteen year old with so much potential in years. The woman wasn’t the kind of person who easily praised people, but when she did she really meant it. She added that her training had really helped Sakura improved greatly as a kunoichi during the month that they’d been together. And so, for their last take out lunch, they went to eat dango; Anko’s favorite. The next day the third part of the chunin exams would begin and that meant their training was over.

“So.” Anko munched on her food. “I think you’ve improved quite a lot. I still don’t think it will be enough to actually _defeat_ Gaara in a fight.”

“I know. That kid is insanely strong.” Sakura nodded. Anko probably didn’t know that the Sand shinobi was actually a Jinchuriki and she also didn’t know that Sakura was a lot stronger than she seemed. Even despite that, Anko was right; she probably wasn’t good enough to truly defeat him. “Thankfully I can still pass the exam if I play my cards right and show my abilities.”

“Exactly.” Anko nodded as she took a big gulp of water and then exhaled heavily. “Remember what I told ya, kiddo; you have to rely on genjutsu, speed and poisons. If you don’t, you _will_ get your ass kicked.”

“I know. I’m still a bit nervous about tomorrow.”

“Well, who wouldn’t be? It’s the last phase of the exam. If it makes you feel any better, I think that you’re by far the best applicant for the exam… well, besides Gaara. If you show them what you’re truly made of, you will definitely pass.”

“Thanks.” Sakura smiled as she finished her food and laid the chopsticks next to her empty plate. “I will still see you around after this, right?”

“Ha! Of course you will!” Anko beamed and lightly punched Sakura’s shoulder. “Don’t think that you will get rid of me that easily.”

“See you around then.” Sakura smiled and stretched her hand in front of her for her temporary teacher to shake.

“I’ll see you _tomorrow_. Everyone is looking forward to your fight.” She shook her hand and patted her shoulder. “I gotta go now. Bye!”

Sakura bid the cook at Ichiraku’s goodbye and then left towards the hospital. Sakura walked through the doors at the usual time and noticed that people seemed to be walking around at a faster pace. Most of them had an excited look on their faces and continuously kept on whispering to each other. Sakura went towards the hospital wing she'd been assigned to in order to get to work immediately. However, the head medic approached her before she could reach her destination.

"Sakura." He said and motioned for her to come closer, which she silently did. "I'm glad that you're here. Come with me."

"Eh... right." Sakura said as she followed the man closely. "Excuse me for asking, but is there an emergency?"

"Oh, not at all. There's just someone that wants to meet our little prodigy."

Sakura quickly followed as she wondered who could possibly want to meet her at the hospital. After a while, they entered a larger room. It was packed with flustered medic nins and Sakura could only wonder what was going on. The head medic cleared his throat and everyone became quiet and moved out of his way. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw who was standing in the middle of the crowd.

Blonde hair. Huge breasts. Dominating presence. Signature diamond on her forehead.

"So here she is!" Tsunade exclaimed and smirked at Sakura. "The so called medic genius."

"He-hello." Sakura managed to speak up.

"You do know who I am, don't you?"

"Of course. Tsunade-sama." Sakura smirked back at her previous shishou, immediately regaining her composure.

"Oh, she's got character. I like her." Tsunade grinned and walked past her. "Come.”

Sakura followed Tsunade as she tried to calm the erratic beating of her heart. It was her shishou, and she was right in front of her. And she had come to find her on her own. She didn’t understand _why_ she was there, but she couldn’t help but not give a damn. It had been _years_ since she had last seen Tsunade, who had been like a second mother to her. Sakura followed Tsunade into the emergency room and saw the blond woman stop next to a bed. Lying there was a man with a broken ribcage which had punctured his right lung.

“They say you’re a genius.” Tsunade said and motioned at the gasping patient. “I want you to show me what you can do.”

Sakura took a deep breath and quickly assessed the wound. It was a slightly complicated procedure that would be difficult for even a middle ranked medic nin to manage. However, since Sakura had already exposed some of her abilities, she guessed that it wouldn’t do any harm to show a bit more. Besides, she was in front of _Tsunade_ and she’d be damned if the slug sannin didn’t deem her abilities good enough. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she was definitely not going to screw up.

As a green glow surrounded her hands, she placed them above the patient’s chest and mended the broken bones first. She tried to do it at a believable pace – as to not raise suspicions – and furrowed her brow to fake effort. The patient’s bones slowly mended back together, the cells within the bones multiplying at a fast rate thanks to her chakra. Once the bones had been set, she directed her chakra to the patient’s lungs. Slowly, his tissues closed up and regenerated, healing the puncture wound properly. Tsunade’s hands were on the patient’s side the whole time, her chakra inside him as she sensed how Sakura healed the man. When Sakura was done, she removed her hands from his chest and looked at the now slightly conscious man.

“You’re all done.” She announced. “Wait for a nurse to come by and give you some painkillers and instructions for what to do later.” The man nodded once and Sakura took a step back before looking up at Tsunade with expectation.

“Hmmm.” Tsunade hummed and a crooked smirk appeared on her lips. “You really are what they say you are. Come, let’s have a talk somewhere in private.”

Sakura hastily followed Tsunade’s quick pace towards an office that had been cleared out. Her previous shishou sat down on an armchair and motioned for Sakura to sit in the seat on the other side. Sakura did as she was instructed and looked at Tsunade for a moment before speaking.

“I never thought I’d get to meet you.” She honestly said. _At least not this soon._

“Oh, well. I heard some rumors about a teen genius medic nin that had started working at Konoha Hospital.” She said. “I was in the area and my curiosity was piqued, so I decided to stop by and see if it was true. Besides, the chunin exam tournament will begin tomorrow, so I thought I’d take the chance to attend since I’m already here.”

“I see.” Sakura said and held the hem of her shirt in anticipation. “What do you think?”

“You’re even better than I expected.” Tsunade nodded once. “I have never seen someone with skills like that at your age. Tell me, how do you know so much about medical ninjutsu?”

“Back at the academy I was always praised for my excellent chakra control. So a couple years ago I started looking into how I could use it and came across medical ninjutsu.” Sakura answered with a plain face, but inwardly cursed herself for lying to Tsunade. “So I started reading about the human body and how chakra could be molded in a way that enhanced that body’s ability to heal. When I thought I knew enough I started using it to heal small cuts and bruises that I received during training. After a while I got better at it and then I came across some gravely injured animals a couple of times. They would’ve died anyways, so I healed them even though I wasn’t sure if I’d succeed. In general, I’ve been learning on my own. I just got accepted into the hospital a month ago.”

“You’ve learned all of this on your own?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow and Sakura nodded.

“Yeah.” She said and had the urge to gulp out of anxiety.

“What would you say if I offered to stay for a while after the exams and teach you for a bit?” she offered with a smug smile. “I could definitely polish your abilities in a short period of time, if you are as good as I think you are.”

“Really?” Sakura’s eyes widened and she felt her heartbeat go faster. “I would be honored, really!”

“Okay then. I will meet you after the exams are over. I recently found out that you’ll be participating, so I’m planning on watching your performance.” Tsunade announced and stood up. “I have to go now, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sakura bowed lowly as Tsunade waved at her and retreated. When she left, Sakura stood up straight once again and stayed frozen in her spot.

She had never dreamed that this could actually happen. Tsunade would be there during the chunin exams and during the sound invasion. If everything went right, Sarutobi wouldn’t have to die and Orochimaru would be dealt with at once.

This was also a great chance on a personal level. If she learned with Tsunade she would have a way of explaining her inhuman strength, her medical abilities and the seal on her forehead. If she trained under Tsunade, the chances of raising suspicion would lower incredibly. If she trained with Tsunade and became a well-known kunoichi, she would have much more freedom to walk in and out of the village. This would also allow her to find Obito and finish her mission.

Apart from all of that, Sakura had missed Tsunade so much. Spending time with her and having the chance to become close to her made Sakura feel bubbly and warm inside.

Sakura still felt a bit guilty about lying to her, but she would make up for it. Sakura would make sure to gain her shishou's trust once more. Tsunade was a fair and smart person and Sakura trusted her with her life. So, once she deemed that they were close enough, she would tell her everything. About her true self, about her past, about Sasuke’s betrayal, about the council, about the fourth shinobi war and the ten tailed beast and about her time travelling mission.

Tsunade would definitely know what to do and, if it came down to it, she would be a good ally to have against the council.

 

**A/N: So, this might be the first real important change in the plot. Let me know what you think about it! The ramifications for this are quite a lot! I have my mind pretty much set on the future plot, but I’d like to hear what you have to say anyways!**

**I want to thank my beta-reader, MonochromeAce, for her fast revision.**

**Also, thanks to all of you who have been reviewing and following. Your input and support means a lot to me.**


	17. Tournament

** CHAPTER 17 **

_Sasuke walked down the dirt path that lead back to the village after a particularly intensive and long session with Kakashi at the training grounds. He was mostly drained of chakra and his whole body ached after the strenuous activities it had endured. However, his sharp senses were always alert and he didn’t miss the second presence behind the trees._

_“Who’s there.” He narrowed his eyes at a particular spot._

_“Oh, you sensed me, huh?” Kankuro walked out of his hiding spot and onto the path._

_“Tch. Of course I did.” Sasuke clicked his tongue. “What? Too eager to fight me that you can’t wait two more weeks?”_

_“Actually, I was planning on forfeiting my fight with you.” He answered and smirked. “But I think we have unfinished business.”_

_“We do?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, silently wondering why the older genin wanted to drop out of the exams._

_“That pink haired bitch that’s on your team didn’t let us finish out encounter last time. You walked around with such_ arrogance _that the only thing I wanted was to wipe out that smug expression off of your face.”_

_“So, you came all the way here just to tell me that?” Sasuke deadpanned with a bored voice, further annoying the Suna shinobi._

_“Ha, you truly hold yourself high, don’t ya?” Kankuro snorted. “I was just passing by when I saw you and thought that I would give you a warning.”_

_“Then talk and stop wasting my time.” Sasuke grunted back._

_“When our fight comes, I will give you a beating like you’ve never experienced before. You better consider dropping out, brat. I have far more experience than you do.”_

_“I’m not a coward, unlike you.”_

_“Keep that stupid pride as long as you can.” Kankuro retorted. “I also advise you to tell your pink haired teammate to forfeit. Or she_ will _die.”_

_Sasuke frowned as Kankuro left and then walked back to his house. When he walked in, he found that Naruto and Sakura had just finished preparing dinner._

_“Hey, Sasuke.” Naruto greeted as he sat down on the table next to Sakura. “Another couple minutes and I might’ve eaten your share as well.”_

_“Hn.” Sasuke said and sat down as well. He took a bit out of his food, making his mind up, and then he finally spoke. “I was approached by Kankuro today. He tried to threaten me into forfeiting our match.”_

_“Ha! That idiot doesn’t know how stubborn you can be.” Naruto snickered and Sakura nodded in agreement._

_“He also mentioned that Sakura should forfeit if she wants to stay alive.” Sasuke said and eyed Sakura. “Sakura, are you sure that you want to fight that guy?”_

_“I told you. I don’t need to defeat him to become a chunin.” Sakura answered._

_“What do you mean, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked._

_“What does the Hokage expect of an applicant for chunin? What’s the real difference between a strong genin and a chunin?” Sakura raised a finger as she explained. “The latter is capable of strategic thinking and leading a team. A chunin is responsible and always uses a tactical approach to defeat his enemies. So, we’re not only expected to show strength at the exam, but also leadership skills.” Sakura lowered her hand and Sasuke nodded in understanding while Naruto frowned, knowing that it was not exactly one of his strengths. “I’ll pass as long as I prove that I’m capable of those two attributes when I fight Gaara. That applies to you too, Sasuke, Naruto. If you want to become chunin, you have to show the judges that you’re smart_ and _strong.”_

“Start!” the referee’s voice snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts in a second.

He crouched down and eyed Kankuro, who was standing in front of him with a smirk. The audience was quite in expectation for the first match of that year’s tournament, especially considering that the last Uchiha was taking part in it.

“I warned you, brat.” Kankuro smirked. “You will regret fighting me.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything and activated his sharingan as he readied his stance. Kankuro took off the seemingly heavy load that he had been carrying on his back since they’d first seen him. He took out the bandages covering it to reveal a wooden puppet that was the size of a grown person. Kankuro smirked as he moved his fingers and suddenly the puppet became alive and dashed at Sasuke. Sasuke’s sharingan had just registered the chakra strings on his opponent’s fingers before he had to start fighting back.

The puppet was truly fast, almost as fast as Sasuke, so he had quite a hard time avoiding the puppeteer’s attacks. He tried using all of his strength as his punches collided with it, but the thing was unbelievably robust. He tried cutting it with his shuriken, but the wood was barely scratched. He moved away from the figurine and looked at his opponent for a moment, noticing that Kankuro had taken many steps back as he had been busy avoiding getting hit by his puppet. He decided that Kankuro was probably a long rage fighter based on his ability and his reluctance to get closer to him.

Sasuke quickly swirled around as he dodged yet another attack from the wooden puppet and ran towards his opponent at top speed. He was barely a shadow as he moved forwards, closely followed by the wooden figure, which was thankfully not fast enough to get to Sasuke on time. Kankuro widened his eyes at that and turned around to run, but Sasuke’s speed allowed him to catch up to him almost immediately. Sasuke got a hold of Kankuro’s wrist and swirled him around, placing the Suna shinobi between himself and the puppet, using him as a shield.

“What!?” Sasuke’s eyes widened as he realized that in the puppet’s place was now Kankuro with a smirk. His eyes instantly darted to the person that was in his hold, only to realize that it was the puppet.

Sasuke moved out of the way just in time to avoid a knife that had been aimed at his throat. As he did, he noticed a faint scent on the blade, meaning that it was probably imbedded with poison. Sasuke quickly jumped into the air and landed on the other side of the arena. Kankuro had once again placed himself away from the Uchiha and the puppet was in between them. So, the puppet wasn’t only a good taijutsu opponent, but Kankuro could also switch places with it. Sasuke cursed under his breath, deciding that he needed to get rid of it as soon as possible.

“Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!” he said after finishing a sequence of hand signs.

A _huge_ ball of fire was blown out of his fingers and surrounded the puppet in flames. Sasuke narrowed his blazing sharingan eyes as he tried to see through the flames, searching for the annoying figurine. Suddenly, the wooden puppet dashed out of the flames and towards Sasuke, who dodged once again and leapt into the air. He managed to avoid close combat with it, but his eyes widened when he noticed that smoke bombs had been sent his way.

He quickly ran away from the smoke, which had a faint purple color. It was something that a normal eye wouldn’t have noticed, but to Sasuke’s sharingan it was as clear as day; it was a poisoned smoke.

Sasuke noticed that the poisonous smoke was covering almost half of the arena, which limited his movements. Sasuke watched as Kankuro walked into the poisonous smoke with a smirk. It made sense that he was resistant to his own poison and it made a great defense-offense tactic.

Kankuro almost laughed as Sasuke engaged in another taijutsu battle with his puppet. Now that he was inside the smoke, he had practically won the fight. He moved his fingers with ease, controlling his wooden puppet like it was second nature to him. Suddenly Kankuro’s eyes widened at the weird feeling of a foreign chakra flowing through his brain.

"Kai!" He shouted and soon his real surroundings were revealed to him as the genjutsu faded.

His poisonous smoke was not around him at all, but far into the right side of the arena. His puppet was right next to the smoke fighting an imaginary opponent. Worse of all, the young Uchiha was right behind him and he could feel an electric charge in the air. He quickly raised his hands to form a sign and switched places with his puppet.

"Chidori!!" Sasuke screamed as his hand pierced through the puppet, shattering it to pieces.

"What!!?" Kankuro’s eyes were wide in shock and it was evident that he wasn’t used to losing his puppets.

Sasuke didn’t allow him a moment to gather himself and was running at him at great speed. Kankuro cursed loudly and raised his guard.

He tried to kick Sasuke in the gut as he approached, but the Uchiha was faster. Kankuro’s arm was caught and he was slammed on the ground violently. He coughed in pain as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He was about to stand up when he felt the coldness of a kunai pressed to his throat.

"Fuck." He cursed. "I give up."

"You were overconfident." Sasuke said and stood up when the referee arrived to declare him the winner.

"You’re good at genjutsu." Kankuro hissed. "Why wait till now to use it?"

"Since you were a long range fighter, I figured that you must’ve developed some sort of defense mechanism too, which would probably lower your guard.  I waited until you were walking into the poisonous smoke to use genjutsu and it allowed me enough time to charge my own attack."

"Tch. Damned brat." Kankuro frowned in annoyance and walked away from the battlefield and back to his team.

Sasuke also walked back to Sakura and Naruto and sat down next to them.

"You kicked his smug ass!" Naruto patted him on the shoulder.

"He was a good opponent." Sakura added. "You did great, Sasuke."

"What was that jutsu? I’ve never seen you use it before."

"I learned it this month. You better catch up, dobe." Sasuke answered with a slightly playful smirk.

"I have learnt stuff too! Don’t get too cocky." Naruto smirked and then turned to Sakura. "Are you ready for you fight, Sakura-chan?"

However, Sakura's eyes were set on where the Hokage was seated. On one side of Sarutobi was Orochimaru disguised as the Kazekage. On his other side was Tsunade, who was currently whispering into the Hokage’s ear with a frown on her face. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she tried to read her shishou's lips, but they were expertly covered. Sarutobi held a confused look on his face as he shook his head at whatever his old student was saying. Sakura frowned at that and wondered if Tsunade had found out about the invasion.

"Saaaakuraaa-chan." Naruto called once again.

"Huh?" She looked to the side to see her two teammates watching her.

"I asked if you were ready for your fight. You're next, right?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess." She mumbled absentmindedly.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look, but didn’t press the subject any further. Sakura looked back up to where Tsunade was with the Hokage, but was startled to notice that she was gone. She looked around the whole audience for a while and concluded that she had left the tournament stadium. She frowned; could Tsunade have other business in the village, besides what she had told her at the hospital? Maybe she knew about Orochimaru. Maybe it was something else. Sakura finally decided to stop worrying, since she couldn’t do anything about it now; her fight was next.

They all watched as Shino and Choji fought and seemed to be on a similar level. In the end, Shino’s bugs drained all of Choji’s chakra and prevented him from using his Human Bullet Tank technique. Shino was declared the winner and both boys walked back to their respective teams. Before Sakura and Gaara’s fight could be announced, the Hokage stood up and raised his arm.

“I was asked for the next match to be postponed, so it will be the closing match. The rest of the schedule will be as planned.” His strong voice informed.

So, the next match would be Temari vs Shikamaru. Both contestants entered the arena and started the fight.

“Why did they delay your fight, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked.

“How the hell is she supposed to know that, dobe?” Sasuke sighed.

“I wish I knew.” Sakura said and crossed her arms in thought.

Maybe it was Tsunade’s doing? If Sakura were to guess why she had interfered, she would say that it was because she’d wanted to see her fight. If that was the case, what kind of matters would be pressing enough for her to leave so suddenly?

The fight between Shikamaru and Temari was as Sakura remembered. Even though Shikamaru did his best, he was still not good enough to win against her. And so, Naruto’s turn came up.

“I _will_ beat that Hyuuga bastard for hurting Hinata-chan like that!” Naruto growled and punched his open palm.

“You do that.” Sakura smiled. “But don’t lose your head down there.”

“Just kick his ass, Naruto.” Sasuke added and Naruto nodded back at his teammates. He jumped down into the arena and Neji approached the place with a calm attitude, as expected.

As Naruto and Neji’s fight began, Sasuke spoke without looking at Sakura. “Hey.”

“Hm?”

“Do you think Naruto will win? The Hyuuga is a strong opponent.”

“He is.” Sakura agreed with a small smile. “But so is Naruto.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything, clearly doubting her words. She didn’t blame him, though; he still hadn’t seen what Naruto was capable of. Naruto’s ass was beaten during the first half of his fight, since the Hyuuga teen was truly a good shinobi. However, after making a speech about Hinata and his own strength, Naruto released a bit of the Kyuubi’s chakra. The fight was turned around and the blonde ended up winning the encounter. Sakura was glad that he had won, but he had completely forgotten her advice and had practically used no tactical abilities. Besides, he had relied on the Kyuubi’s chakra instead of his own. So, even though he’d won the fight, there was a chance that he wouldn’t be promoted.

“Well done, Naruto!” Sakura cheered nonetheless as he walked back to them.

“I must say I didn’t expect that. At all.” Sasuke said with a still surprised expression – at least as surprised as he could look.

“What’s that supposed to mean!” Naruto complained.

“The final fight, Gaara vs Sakura!” the Hokage announced.

Sakura looked up in anticipation and saw that, next to the Hokage, was Tsunade who had returned to her previous seat. Her shishou locked eyes with her and gave her a thumbs up. Sakura would’ve sighed in relief – she truly wanted to show her abilities to Tsunade to make sure that she would train her – but then her eyes came upon the fake Kazekage. He was eyeing her intently, his eyes drilling into her. Sakura quickly averted her gaze, knowing that looking into a Kage’s eyes for too long could be taken as disrespect. Did Orochimaru suspect that she knew of his true identity? She was taken aback when she felt arms circle around her tightly.

“Be careful, Sakura-chan.” Naruto spoke into her shoulder. “Please don’t be too reckless.”

“I won’t.” Sakura smiled patted his back before letting go of the embrace. When she did, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked back to see Sasuke.

“Don’t push yourself _too_ much. You saw what he did to Lee.”

“I know.” Sakura nodded at him and walked down into the arena.

As she came to a stop she couldn’t help but feel happy about Sasuke’s concern. He would’ve never said anything like that in her past life, so she was glad that he was more open with her now. She knew that she was supposed to be on edge, but his words had calmed her down a lot. She inwardly thanked him for it. Of course she was thankful for Naruto’s support as well, but it had come as no surprise.

“I imagine that you’d become a fairly good shinobi.” Gaara spoke lowly with a bored face. “Too bad that you’ll die today.”

“You also seem like a strong opponent. I expect both of us to show the best of our abilities.” Sakura said curtly, deliberately ignoring his second comment.

She had decided to show as much strength as possible in this encounter, as long as it didn’t raise any suspicions. It would be enough to impress the judges but not enough to raise suspicion. That meant the she wouldn’t be able to use her chakra enhanced strength nor her seal. She would enhance her speed with chakra, but only a bit, and rely on her known abilities.

The referee walked in between then and raised his arms before announcing the start of the fight. Gaara immediately casted his sand out of the vessel on his back and it started flowing around him. Sakura took a deep breath in and channeled her chakra throughout her body before running at him.

Sakura’s speed had greatly increased during her training with Anko, so she would only use chakra to enhance it when it was absolutely necessary. She raced across the arena towards him, trying to erase the distance. He was by far a better fighter on the long range, so she would have to try to engage in a close taijutsu battle with him.

Sakura dodged his sand at a quick pace, spinning and twisting through the air and on the floor as she advanced towards him. Gaara seemed slightly fazed by her ability to get so close to him, so he casted a Sand Clone. The clone stood between her and the original Gaara and intercepted her. Sakura aimed a punch at him, knowing that the sand would take a hold of her arm. When it did, she used a bit more chakra to push her body faster and spun around, pulling the clone with her and dispelling it back to sand.

Sakura once again ran at him and noticed that his sand was denser now, but the area of coverage was smaller. She moved up and down, dancing around as she dodged the sand that attacked her, preventing her from moving any closer.

Sakura quickly made a couple signs and an illusion of herself appeared in front of her. Both Sakuras spun around for a couple seconds to confuse Gaara. When they parted ways, he frowned as he tried to find which one was the real one. He had to divide his sand on two fronts, so Sakura _and_ her illusion managed to get closer to Gaara. He widened his eyes as he looked to the front and behind his back. Both Sakuras aimed a punch at Gaara, the fake one dispelling just as the real one gathered a _bit_ of chakra to her fist.

Gaara used his sand to propel himself upwards and away from Sakura. However, Sakura’s punch collided with Gaara’s sand column and it broke down. Gaara was sent flying to the ground and had to soften his landing with a pile of sand. He looked back at Sakura and she smirked at him.

“Is that all the sand you’ve got? ‘Cause next time you’ll be needing more of it.”

He narrowed his eyes at her as she lunged at him once again. He growled and allowed twice as much sand to appear in front of him. Sakura inwardly smirked at how easy it was to taunt young genin. Gaara readied his sand around him as Sakura neared him at a fast rate. However, before she got close enough, Sakura gathered chakra to her feet and jumped 8 meters into the air. As she was moving upwards, she took out a scroll and opened it with a quick flick of her wrist.

“Release!”

A huge amount of water appeared in front of Sakura and started falling towards Gaara’s sand. The Suna shinobi widened his eyes and motioned for his sand to move away from the falling water. However, Sakura had already anticipated this and started making hand-signs.

“Suiton: Suishōha!”

The water that was falling beneath her suddenly became alive and Sakura moved her hands to control it. As she swiftly fell to the ground, her hands pushed the water towards Gaara’s sand. For a while, he struggled for his sand to avoid the water, but in the end it became heavy and wet. Sakura knew that using that jutsu was a stretch of a what a regular genin abilities should be, since it was a mid-level water jutsu, but she hadn’t figured out any other way to deal with his sand.

Gaara’s eyes became furious and she could almost see his arms shaking in anger. Sakura decided to take action before he could lose control any further and gathered chakra on her legs to push her body at a fast rate towards him. Gaara summoned his now wet sand, but it was slower and he had to use more chakra to control it. Sakura reappeared behind him and kicked him on his right side, sending him flying to the edge of the arena. He slammed into the wall and then stood up shakily, glaring at Sakura darkly.

“How _dare_ you.” He hissed and clenched his fists as a crack began to appear on his face.

A burst of evil chakra surrounded Gaara and _all_ of his sand became wild. It started moving around in a random manner, forcing Sakura to dodge several times. It finally gathered around Gaara, making a sort of sphere around him. Sakura knew that she would only be able to break through it with chakra, but couldn’t display her brute strength there. However, if she used only a bit of chakra to strengthen her attacks, she would probably be able to break through it after a couple hits _and_ she wouldn’t raise suspicions.

Sakura jumped and landed just in front of Gaara’s sand sphere. She immediately concentrated her chakra on her fists and legs and began to move at a quick speed. Her body twisted and turned around in the air as she landed one hit after the other. As she attacked, she had to dodge the sharpened points that were formed on the sphere. The chakra enhanced speed along with the slightly chakra enhanced strength allowed Sakura to slowly make a crack on the surface.

When the crack was deep enough, Sakura took a senbon from the weapons pouch tied to her hip and swung it into the wet sand sphere. As she quickly backed away from her opponent, a particularly long point of sand suddenly shot out from the sphere and stabbed her shoulder. Sakura jumped backwards a few times and then put a glowing hand to her shoulder, effectively stopping the bleeding in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly, the sphere crumbled and Sakura gasped at what she saw. One of Gaara’s hands had been replaced by the Shukaku’s and he flung it her way. Sakura immediately jumped back and barely managed to avoid getting hit by its incredible force. She cautiously looked Gaara straight in the eyes as he growled in a half-conscious way and stumbled to keep his body straight.

“ _What_ did you do to me?” he mumbled and Sakura was relieved to see that her strategy had worked.

“I assumed that you had built a resistance to poison… so I created a special mixture that would surely affect you. I had to make sure that you would drop the defenses around your skin to do it.” Sakura answered quickly as she circled around and came up behind Gaara.

His slowed movements and numb body weren’t enough to keep up and so she took a hold of a shoulder with a tight grip. Her kunai going straight to his neck in an attempt to force him to surrender, but his aura suddenly shifted to a much darker chakra and it swirled around him violently. The aura forced Sakura backwards a good ten meters, but she managed to turn around in time and land on her feet.

“AAAARRRRGHHH!!!” Shukaku’s aura soon took control of Gaara and his whole body shook with stress. His human hand tightly gripped the demon’s hand in a futile attempt to make it go away.

In the middle of the frenzy and Shukaku’s dominating aura, Sakura felt a slight shift in the atmosphere. She quickly looked around and noticed that almost the whole audience had been put to sleep by a genjutsu. Sakura’s eyes quickly darted to her teammates and she was relieved to see that Sasuke was already putting his hands on Naruto to help him break out of the illusion.

Temari and Kankuro were soon next to Gaara forming a defensive position and were helping him regain control. It seemed to help, as Shukaku’s arm was now gone. She assumed that the poison’s effects would soon fade, since she had prioritized the speed of the poison over its duration.

Sakura then looked up to the platform where the Hokage were seated and saw that Orochimaru’s kunai was pressed to Hiruzen’s throat. In front of them was Tsunade in a fighting stance eyeing the fake Kazekage warily, probably wondering what she could do to stop him without starting an international war.

“Sakura!” Sasuke landed next to Sakura, quickly followed by Naruto.

“What the hell was that!” the blonde yelled in disbelief and pointed at the Suna shinobi. “He’s a fucking monster!”

Sakura flinched at his incredibly loud voice and looked at Gaara, who was now staring at Naruto in rage. His eyes then darted towards Sakura and his face contorted into a mad smirk. Naruto’s comment had obviously destroyed any grip that Gaara might’ve held on the demon inside of him. Sakura truly loved Naruto, he was like a brother to her, but she seriously wanted to punch him at that moment.

“I’ll _kill_ you!” he roared and Shukaku’s aura flared again. “I’ll _fucking_ kill you!”

Sakura’s eyes widened at the impending threat and cursed under her breath. If Gaara unleashed the one-tailed beast in the middle of the arena, the casualties would be catastrophic. So, in a split second she turned around and ran away from the arena.

As Sakura escaped the populated areas, she looked over her shoulder and noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were running right next to her at top speed. Further behind them was Gaara, closely followed by his siblings.

“Sakura-chan, why are we running away?!” Naruto asked from behind her.

“You just said it, dobe!” Sasuke answered with exasperation. “He’s practically a monster! We don’t want to fight him around civilians!”

Naruto worriedly looked behind him and saw the evil aura that was leaking out of the Suna shinobi. Sakura didn’t have to look back to feel that the beast’s aura was increasing his speed above human level, and he was quickly approaching them.

Sakura’s heart was beating rapidly, feeling the Shukaku’s crushing killing intent on her. She had initially planned on staying with Sarutobi when the invasion started, but hadn’t anticipated Gaara’s actions towards her – something that had been pretty naïve on her part, now that she thought about it. At least, she felt reassured at the fact Tsunade was with the Hokage, which would hopefully mean that the conclusion of that fight would be a different one compared to her original timeline.

However, there was a different issue plaguing her mind at that moment. Last time around, Gaara had only unleashed the Shukaku outside of the village. This time, he was quickly losing control _inside_ of it and Sakura was afraid that they would have to fight him there. Right in between buildings and civilians.  

Sakura could only pray that they managed to get Gaara out of the village before he lost all control.

 

**A/N: I know I skipped some of the fights, but I didn’t want to bore you (and myself) by writing the fights that had happened on the original plot. And well… I could’ve written more about Shino and Choji’s fight too, but their fight wouldn’t make difference in the future anyways.**

**Let me know what you think! Things have taken quite a turn compared to the original plot! I’d _love_ to read your thoughts about it!**

**As always, I want to thank my beta reader, MonochromeAce.**

**ALSO, I know that I took a bit longer to update this chapter. But the next one will be coming out in a day or two!**

 

 


	18. Devastating News

** CHAPTER 18 **

“Get down!” Sakura yelled as she felt the Shukaku’s chakra flare and a tingling anticipation in the back of her mind.

All members of Team 7 got down just in time to avoid getting hit by the one-tailed demon’s arm. Sasuke turned around and saw that one of Gaara’s arms had once again taken the form of a monster’s. Sweat trickled down his temples in anticipation and angst. Just what the hell is that?!

Instead of crushing the three genin, the demon’s hand slammed against a building and destroyed one side of it in just one move. Naruto gaped in disbelief and shook in anger. He was clearly appalled by the notion that there were probably people inside of it.

“I’ll kill you!” Gaara once again lashed at the three of them with crazed eyes focused on Sakura.

“Damn it!” Sakura dodged again, her mind quickly going through whatever options they had regarding the sand shinobi. His hand slammed on another building once again and she felt a knot form in her throat. How many people had been injured so far? Was she supposed to lure him away now or was she supposed to go and help them?

Suddenly, four more people joined them. One of them was Shikamaru, another was Shino, and then the two Sand siblings. Kankuro and Temari seemed worried and without a clue about how to handle their brother. Shikamaru locked eyes with Sakura and she darted towards him at full speed.

“We have to get him away from here!” Sakura hissed when she stopped next to him. “I have to stay back to heal these people though!”

“I’ll keep him in place for a couple seconds.” He answered.

“It won’t be enough to heal them all!” Sakura growled and then realization seemed to dawn on her. “I know! Keep him busy for one minute and then release him! He’ll come after me if you don’t piss him off.”

Shikamaru nodded once, immediately knowing what she was planning as she jumped away from him. The lazy genius got in Gaara’s way and put his hands together. His shadow stretched for a good ten meters and his opponent was suddenly frozen. Shikamaru frowned at the immense strength that Gaara possessed and had to use all of his might to keep him in place. The suna shinobi’s frenzy had him a bit confused at first, not understanding why his body was not reacting to his commands. However, he soon realized who was responsible and narrowed his eyes.

Sakura jumped in front of Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino motioning for them to follow her. They quickly hid behind a building and she looked at Naruto.

“Make a shadow clone, Naruto.”

“Huh? Only one?”

“Just do it!” Sakura bit back, almost losing her temper. Naruto didn’t say anything, but casted a clone nonetheless. “Now, henge it so that it looks like me.”

Naruto’s clone poofed and, when the smoke cleared, another Sakura appeared between them. Sakura walked up to the clone and put her hands on its shoulder, sending some of her chakra into the clone. It would be enough for Gaara to notice her presence in it, but it was only a fraction of her reserves.

“Good. Now, I want all of you to get out of the building make sure Gaara sees you but doesn’t figure out you want him to. Lure him into following you and run into the training grounds as far as you can.” Sakura commanded, her vast experience as a shinobi taking over the whole team in a natural way.

She rushed back in between two big wrecked walls next to them which would hide her well and sat down on the floor. She closed her eyes and focused on the flow of her chakra. Sakura put all of her mind into the channels that lead the chakra throughout her whole body, taking notice of all the live energy flowing through her body. She took a deep breath in and when she exhaled, her chakra flow became almost nonexistent. It was just the right balance of what was needed for her to stay alive and to make her presence undetectable. She faintly heard the surprised gasps of the genin around her, but couldn’t afford to lose her focus.

“Go.” She softly said in a low voice and felt the three genin and the clone jump out of the wrecked building.

Shikamaru had never thought it would be this difficult to control the suna shinobi. He had had to use his jutsu at least three times by now, because Gaara would constantly break free of his shadow jutsu. He’d had to use every tactic he could think of to confuse him and then catch him again. Shikamaru was shaking in exertion and had his stomach in a knot at the sight of the evil aura seeping off his opponent. He could see his siblings standing next to him and yelling out so that he would calm down, but to no avail.

Only a moment before the minute Sakura had asked for had gone by, he felt four presences appear behind him. He turned around and saw Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Shino running through the buildings. Gaara also stopped struggling and focused his eyes on them. Sakura stopped for a moment and turned her head around to watch the two struggling shinobi. One of her eyebrows lifted and a smug smirk appeared on her face, clearly mocking Gaara for his predicament. She then turned around and followed the rest of them away from there.

“How dare she mock us, Mother?!!” Gaara wailed and his two hands clutched his head in pain.

Shikamaru flinched at his apparent insanity, waited for a couple seconds longer and then released his jutsu. He jumped back and managed to get out of the way just in time to avoid getting run over by Gaara’s demonic arm. Between pants, he watched as the Suna nin followed after the three genin towards the nearest Gate.

He walked a couple steps forward, his eyes lingering on where Gaara had disappeared, and sighed deeply. He then noticed Sakura walking out of a wrecked building and motioning for him to come forward. Shikamaru jumped towards her, trying to keep his suspicions about her at bay, and landed in front of the pinkette.

“Shikamaru, I need you to find me someone with brute strength to lift all of this rubble. There’s probably at least a couple civilians trapped beneath.” She said and he nodded, leaving the place immediately.

Sakura walked towards where she felt a chakra signature and noticed a middle aged man that had been almost crushed by a fallen wall. She quickly kneeled next to him and put her arms on his injured arm, sending healing chakra into it. As she healed him, her mind drifted back to her teammates, worry settling in her gut. Sakura did remember that they’d been just fine on their own last time, but it didn’t help relieve her apprehension. After all, in this timeline a lot of things had changed and she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that they’d win the fight. Nonetheless, Sakura decided to stay and save these people’s lives, because she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t.

A couple minutes later, she had healed the man’s arm enough for him to live and not lose his limb. She stood up and, when she turned around, she saw that Shikamaru was back. Behind him landed a couple Konoha chunin and she quickly approached them.

“I need you to help me lift the rubble that is blocking my way to the injured.” She said without waiting another second. She would’ve done it herself, but she had decided against it for two reasons. First of all, she didn’t want to waste chakra on enhancing her strength when there were so many people in need of healing. Secondly, nobody knew her to have that kind of ability, and she didn’t want to reveal it unless absolutely necessary.

Sakura closed her eyes for a couple moments, allowing her chakra sensor abilities to spread out. She quickly checked all of the surrounding buildings and, after ten seconds, she pinpointed that there were fifteen injured under the demolition. Sakura signaled to the chunin where they were and they went to work as soon as she did. Sakura followed them around, healing the gravely injured as fast as she could. When she had just finished healing the seventh wounded person, she stood up and walked to the chunin that were around her. She was instructing them on how to carry another patient to the hospital, when she noticed that there was another presence behind her and looked around.

“Tsunade!” her eyes widened and she felt relief wash over her. Tsunade smirked at her and jumped down from the rooftop she’d been standing on.

“I’ve been watching you for a while. You’ve done exceedingly well. I’ll take over from here. Go find your teammates.” She finished as two other medics arrived.

Sakura watched as the small fractions of Katsuyu came from behind her and crawled over to the wounded, channeling her shishou’s chakra into their bodies. The slug sannin had probably been healing shinobi and civilians all along, and Sakura was relieved that she’d attended this chunin exam. Sakura took one last look at her mentor and dashed towards the woods at full speed.

After jumping from branch to branch for a minute, Sakura finally saw smoke in the distance. As she headed that way, she couldn’t help but pray that Naruto and Sasuke were all right. They’d parted ways around fifteen minutes ago, so the fight could’ve perfectly ended by then. She dashed through the trees and finally came upon a scene that made her sigh in relief.

Sasuke was crouching next to an unconscious Naruto and Gaara was passed out a couple meters from them. Kankuro and Temari were currently picking Gaara up and taking him away. She quickly walked to her teammates and kneeled next to Sasuke.

“How is he?” she asked just to make sure and Sasuke turned to look at her with slight surprise.

“He’s just knocked out.” Sasuke answered and then frowned. “You took a long time.”

“I was healing the civilians that had been crushed with Gaara’s attacks… I couldn’t leave them behind. I’m sorry.” Sakura knew that a team was expected to keep together and support each other at all times during battle, but she’d already known – kinda – the result of this particular encounter. “I also have a duty as a medic to tend to them.”

“I know.” Sasuke said and looked down at Naruto. “Well, at least we’re fine. Let’s go back.”

Sakura nodded and each of them took hold of one of Naruto’s shoulders. They pulled him up, put one arm over a shoulder each, and walked back to the village.

“So… you guys actually defeated Gaara?”

“Naruto did most of the work.” Sasuke spoke lowly and Sakura could tell that he was slightly frustrated at the idea of not being much help. “He apparently learned some good skills with that hentai teacher of his. But the fight actually was won because Naruto is the same as Gaara; they’re both Jinchurikis.” Sasuke stopped for a moment as he looked at her and Sakura realized that he was waiting to see her reaction. She widened her eyes in fake surprise and gaped a bit. “He apologized for calling him a monster and told him that he had made friends even though there was a beast sealed inside of him. Apparently Gaara was shocked by this and his fighting weakened, so Naruto took the chance and knocked him out.”

Sakura didn’t say anything else and smiled. She had been slightly worried that after Naruto’s outburst at the stadium, Gaara wouldn’t get to find it in him to care about others.

After walking for about ten minutes, they finally reached the gate. Sakura noticed that there didn’t seem to be any battles around and figured that the fight was over. She had the nagging need to know it the Hokage was alive, so she approached a shinobi that was standing on the gate, pulling Naruto and Sasuke with her.

“What happened?” she asked anxiously.

“We won.” He smiled in a cheerful manner. “Hokage-sama killed Orochimaru and the rest of us managed to force his allies out of the village.”

Sasuke sighed in relief and Sakura smiled too, but for a complete different reason. She’d been right when she assumed that Tsunade’s presence would be more than enough to help Sarutobi finish Orochimaru off. She felt a small smile tug at her lips and gestured with her hand towards the village. Sasuke nodded once and the both of them resumed their walk. They’d walked a block or two into the village, when Naruto stirred and opened his eyes.

“Huh?” he looked towards the left and the right, seeing his friends holding him up. “What happened?”

“We won.” Sasuke stated.

Naruto beamed widely and cheered, talking about how the suna shinobi had eaten their dust and they’d proved to them that Konoha was not to be challenged. His positivity radiated off of him and onto Sakura and Sasuke, which made both of them smile a bit. The three of them finally arrived to the front of the Hokage tower. Sakura was relieved when she saw Hiruzen standing there, covered in blood, but alive and healed. He notified everyone to get a good rest and ordered the healthy shinobi to start helping out in clearing up the critical streets and infrastructure of wreckage.

Sakura bid her teammates goodbye, knowing that she would be much more helpful at the hospital than anywhere else. She entered the hall and saw that every health worker was rushing around, tending to the numerous wounded. Sakura quickly walked to the emergency wing and started healing some civilians and shinobi.

After a couple of hours, Anko entered the hall, dragging Kakashi behind her. The masked jonin’s lone eye was clearly expressing his discomfort for being at the hospital. Sakura almost chuckled at his childish antics and approached the two of them.

“Hey! Sakura!” Anko smirked as she waved and walked to meet the pinkette halfway. Her hold on Kakashi tightened as she pulled him with her. “It’s good to see that you are fine.”

“You too.” She smiled and then raised an eyebrow. “What brings you here?”

“Well, this idiot over here didn’t want to have his injury checked out.” Anko snorted. “So I had to drag him all the way. It’s not worth the trouble, seriously.”

“I never asked you to.” Kakashi mumbled and leaned away from her as a way of showing his disagreement with her actions.

“Shut up!” she snarled and then turned to Sakura with a smile. “Have a look at him before he gets away, will ya?”

Sakura smiled awkwardly and nodded at Anko. She took hold of Kakashi’s free arm and led him to a box, closely followed by the female jonin. Sakura turned him around and her eyes widened at the serious injury on his back. His spine was almost exposed because of a deep gash and he had horrible burns here and there.

“You wanted to leave this wound as it is?” she said in a low voice that had such an edge to it that even Kakashi visibly shuddered.

“Oh, well… ehehehe.” He laughed nervously. “No. I just wanted to wait until the civilians had been taken care of, that’s all.”

“Lies!” Anko complained rather loudly and Kakashi turned his head to look at her in defiance. He was clearly more afraid of Sakura’s temper than Anko’s and had chosen his battle smartly.

As Sakura cleaned Kakashi’s wound, she heard him and Anko arguing with one another for minutes. She secretly smiled to herself, since she’d never known Kakashi to be so open to anyone before. He was actually talking more than she’d ever heard him and she’d spent a lot of time with him in her previous life. She wondered if the two of them were friends, because she’d never seen them together a lot last time around. Maybe they’d become friends because of her own training with Anko?

As her hands sent healing chakra into her sensei’s back, her mind focused on a different subject and her eyes started looking around.

Where was Tsunade? Of course she was an important shinobi with great experience and she would probably be needed in more than one place. However, whatever she could do anywhere else could be also done by another shinobi. After an invasion, the only reasonable place for Tsunade to be would be at the hospital. She was the best medic nin around, after all.

“Sakura?” Kakashi suddenly asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Are you looking for someone?”

“Oh. Actually, I am.” Sakura said. “You see, yesterday Tsunade came to the hospital and watched me perform a procedure. She was pretty impressed and said that I had more potential than she’d ever seen.” She almost blushed at that. “She told me to meet her after the exam. I figured that I’d find her here – it would be obvious, right? – but I haven’t seen her around for hours.”

Sakura was standing behind Kakashi and Anko, so she couldn’t see her faces. But she noticed how the two of them visibly tensed at her words. Sakura felt anticipation build in her gut when none of them said anything at all.

“I’m just putting too much thought into it! I’ll just have to find her later!” She laughed nervously. “Maybe she has some other business to attend to. She probably does; she’s an experienced shinobi after all. The Hokage must’ve needed her opinion about something. Or maybe she was sent on a special mission because of the invasion. Maybe she even decided that she didn’t want to be in Konoha anymore and left. Or-”

“Sakura.” Kakashi interrupted her ranting with a serious voice. Sakura shut her mouth at once and gulped in worry.

“Tsunade was killed during battle, kiddo.” Anko said with a seriousness that Sakura had only seldom seen in her face.

“I’m sorry, Sakura.” Kakashi said and Sakura figured that her expression was shocked. “You’ll have to find another teacher.”

“Oh-oh.” Sakura shook her head and forced a smile. “Well, I truly wanted to learn from her, since she was the best and all. At least nobody close to us died… right?” Sakura knew that she was truly close to the blonde, but thankfully Kakashi just nodded at her and added “It was a great loss to the medic and shinobi professions, I’m sure the Hokage will have a public funeral for her.”

“Y-yeah.” Sakura said, gulping down the tears that were threatening to overflow. “She was said to be really strong though. How did it happen?”

“No one knows.” Kakashi answered looking at the ground. “It’s supposed to be confidential to non ANBU, so I don’t know the details.”

"O-oh. I see." Sakura said awkwardly. Noticing her weird discomfort, Anko and Kakashi remained quiet as her hands kept on sending healing chakra into his back.

Sakura had always been proud of her ability to think fast and clearly. Her analytical skills were excellent and she had polished them as years passed by. However, all of her rational thinking would always go to hell whenever she felt emotionally drained or compromised. If it had been someone else, Sakura would’ve probably found a plausible explanation for everything. Sadly, this was not just anybody, it was Tsunade. Sakura’s mind was craving for an explanation to her death. She must’ve helped Sarutobi during his fight, because otherwise he would’ve died. It was strange and she was sure that there was something that she was overlooking. But she didn’t have the mind to think about that right now. She had her hands full with healing Kakashi and keeping her emotions hidden. Sakura finally finished healing her sensei and cleared her throat to make sure her voice wouldn’t sound broken.

"You're good to go." Sakura said patting him on the shoulder. "You'll have to take antibiotics for two days because of how long your wound was exposed. We don’t want any infections spreading, so please do as I say."

"All right." Kakashi said and received the pills that she handed him. He stood up and looked into her eyes for a second. 

Kakashi might not be the best when it comes to emotions. He was himself quite a handful and had some trouble dealing with them. Nonetheless, he noticed the way Sakura’s face contorted into a slight smile. It was completely forced and, if he had to guess, he thought that she wanted to cry. Why though? She had only met Tsunade yesterday, so why would she react like that to the news? He didn’t understand it, but that wasn’t an excuse to not offer some help.

"Ehhh.  Sakura." He scratched the back of his neck. "If you feel the need to... you know... if you want to..."

"Oh for fucks sake!" Anko snorted. "He’s trying to tell ya that he'll be there for you if you need it."  
"That." Kakashi simply added with a nod.

"I’m here too, kiddo." Anko said.

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind if I ever do need it." Sakura smiled and waved them off, putting her mask back on. "I need to tend to others now, take care."

She quickly walked back into the hall, followed by her two teachers who turned towards the exit. Sakura felt her heartbeat speeding up and cold sweat on her temples. Her mind was on overdrive on a level that she even felt dizzy and unable to work anymore. The need to vent out and let her feelings flow out was almost unbearable. She looked around for a moment and saw that there were only a couple patients waiting and their wounds weren’t grave. At the corner of the hall was the head of the hospital and she approached him.

"Sir." She said and he turned around to face her. When he saw her he smiled and opened his mouth to talk, probably to ask her for some help. Sakura was not about to let him do that. "I need to leave. I had long fights today during the chunin exam and during the invasion. I’ve healed at least 30 gravely injured people. If I keep going I could collapse at any time."

"Oh. I understand. Go on then and get some rest."

Sakura bowed shortly and thanked him for understanding. She quickly walked out of the hospital and into the streets. She was surprised to find that it was already night. Just how long had she been inside treating patients? She was actually pretty drained in a physical way too. Despite that, Sakura’s heavy body walked towards her house in a hurried manner. She needed to have some time for herself as soon as possible. She finally reached the middle sized house and opened the door quickly.

"Sakura!" Her mother walked to her. "We've been so worried! Are you alight?"

"Yes. How about you two?" She said trying to sound reassuring and her parents nodded in answer. "I know that you want to talk about the invasion. But I'm so tired that I'll pass out any moment. We'll talk tomorrow."

Sakura’s parents raised their eyebrows in curiosity but nodded nonetheless, figuring that she must’ve had a long day at the hospital. Sakura waved them goodnight and rushed to her bedroom. As soon as her door closed behind her, Sakura was consumed by her sorrow.

As she tried to cry soundlessly and pressed a pillow to her lips, she let herself fall to the floor. The feeling of losing Tsunade all over again was as hard as it had been the first time. Losing someone that had been like a mother to her made her feel like of a part of her soul, her life and her history had been torn away.

She could finally allow the suppressed feelings to flow out freely. She cried for a long time, until exhaustion - both physical and emotional – forced her to sleep.

At that moment, Sakura honestly believed that this event would be the most devastating she would be facing in this timeline - assuming that she would stop the ten tails from ever coming to life. She didn’t know how wrong she was.

 

**A/N: As promised! Another chapter!**

**I’m sorry! I love Tsunade, but this had to be done. It’ll create a chain of events that will completely change the plot. I hope that you liked the chapter and that you won’t hold it against me!**

**As always, I’d like to thank my beta reader, MonochromeAce. She’s always a lot of help, since my English is not so good.**

**I’d love to hear what you think about this chapter and about Tsunade’s death. It always makes my day when I read a good input! Thank you all for reading a reviewing!**


	19. Parting

** CHAPTER 19 **

At first, everything had been confusing to Sakura. The weight of grief and the strain from long hours of work had kept her mind numb the next whole day. Only after her death, had Sakura realized that it had indeed been weird for Tsunade to simply go to Konoha of her own accord. Before Jiraiya and Naruto had gone to find Tsunade in her previous life, her shishou had been completely against going back to Konoha. Tsunade had bad memories regarding the village and she couldn’t stand the council – a feeling that Sakura had learned to share. It didn’t make _any_ sense that she would go back to Konoha only to watch the chunin exams and meet a rumored genius medic. She must’ve had _other_ reasons for it.

However, what reason could she have had? Sakura’s presence hadn’t made any _real_ changes to the events up until that point except for the dynamics of her team and her ability as a medic. She seriously doubted that any of that could’ve created a series of changes important enough to accomplish such a feat. If her assumptions were right, then there must’ve been another factor that she had overlooked. But what? Did her travel back in time change something of importance that she wasn’t thinking of?

Was it even Tsunade who had been there? Sakura had known her for _years_ and she was pretty sure that it had been her. However, she couldn’t rely on her impressions alone and had to keep an open mind. Maybe there had been an impostor in Tsunade’s place and he had been good enough for Sakura to not notice. If she only had doubted a bit of her shishou’s presence instead of being overjoyed, she might’ve had the sense to check if it truly had been her. If it was indeed an impostor, she didn’t know if it was better or worse news. Who would be strong and skilled enough to impersonate her without raising doubts even from the Hokage? Why would anyone want to do that anyways?

Sakura had these questions plaguing her mind all day, but she couldn’t think of an answer. In the end, she decided to take matters into her own hands. It would be risky, but after the war she had become truly stealthy, enough to not be noticed by ANBU even. Besides, she had deep knowledge of most of Konoha’s infrastructure, having been the Hokage’s apprentice and all. So, she decided to break into the morgue of the village and take a look at her teacher’s corpse for herself.

The night after the invasion, Sakura set off towards the building in which Tsunade was expected to be kept. She left her house through the window because her parents were still a bit protective of her – something she was partly glad of, but it truly could get in the way. She made sure that they were asleep and that she would only take a maximum of twenty minutes. The time was a pressing issue not only because of her parents, but also because of the tight security around the morgue. She was glad that she roughly knew what the schedules were, because it would’ve been riskier if she didn’t. Sakura got to the morgue, located right next to the hospital, like a shadow and picked the lock. She opened it effortlessly in just a couple of seconds and jumped inside soundlessly. As she dashed through the corridors, she kept her sensor abilities on high alert, making sure that she would be alone in the building the whole time.

Sakura passed by the room where they kept most of the corpses, knowing that Tsunade’s wouldn’t be there. A special room existed for special cases, such as important citizens or truly strong shinobi. It was an especially well guarded room, because the village couldn’t risk having the bodies of their leaders or the abilities of their strongest stolen. Thankfully, since Sakura had been practically head of the hospital in her past life, she knew the place well enough. As she neared the door, she put her hands on the walls, knowing exactly where the invisible seals were located. She passed her chakra through it slowly and the door opened up.

Sakura entered the room at once and closed the door behind her, knowing that the Hokage would be alerted by the system if it stayed open for more than thirty seconds. She walked straight to a column of large drawers, which stored corpses. She read through the signs and quickly found Tsunade’s name on one of them. She closed her hand around the handle and took a deep breath. She would have to stray strong no matter what, because she couldn’t afford to lose her mind now. She exhaled and pulled at the handle, sliding the cold morgue chamber open.

Lying there was Tsunade, cold and pale. Her body was that of her true age, with wrinkles on her face and with older hands. Sakura felt her eyes sting a bit at the sight, but quickly gathered herself. There were deep purple bags under her eyes, which Sakura could tell were due to exhaustion before her death and not because of physical decay. She passed her hands over Tsunade and allowed her chakra to flow through her body.

Sakura concluded that the body was _not_ a fake. It had truly been Tsunade all along and there was no doubt about it. Sakura felt tears well in her eyes and she had to remove her hands from the cold body. She slowly wiped away the tears and passed her hand through her hair in dismay. She had honestly hoped that it was a fake and that she would still have the chance to meet her shishou. Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and then looked back at her mentor.

Sakura’s hands were on the corpse once more as she channeled her chakra through it. She checked on the vital organs one by one and finally came upon the heart. To any medic nin, Tsunade’s death would’ve seemed like a natural death due to a heart attack. However, Sakura knew that such a thing was not possible.

For starters, her shishou had been constantly healing her body and keeping it as healthy as it could be for most of her life. There was no way she could’ve died of a heart attack, so Sakura assumed that someone had forced one on her. However, for someone to fake it and make it seem as natural as it did, they had to be truly gifted. Apart from that, Tsunade had the ability of regenerating her tissues instantly through her seal. If Tsunade died, she must’ve been out of chakra, otherwise it would’ve been impossible to kill her. If someone killed her right inside the village and nobody noticed who it was, then they must’ve done it quickly when she was alone and exhausted.

It did make sense that Tsunade ran out of chakra during the invasion. She had seen her using her slug summons to heal civilians and shinobi alike. Sakura also assumed that she had given Sarutobi a hand against Orochimaru, because he should’ve died otherwise. It was not strange that she had run out of chakra after all of that.

The issue was that only two people were supposed to know of her regenerating abilities in this timeline; Shizune and Sakura herself. The person who had killed Tsunade had known exactly when to strike. They must’ve been well aware of her weakness and had waited until the right moment.

The thought of that made a chill run down Sakura’s spine. Why would anyone kill her but let Sarutobi and the rest of Konoha live? Sakura was certain that whoever had done it was no regular shinobi. Who on earth had done it? Would anyone hold a personal grudge against her in this timeline?

Sakura was about to put her body away when she suddenly remembered something. Tsunade always kept important things sealed away within a fake mole on her neck. Sakura leaned forwards to move a strand of hair to reveal the mole and placed her hands on it.

“Release!”

In front of her appeared a puff of smoke and she stretched out her hands to take hold of the item. When the smoke cleared away, Sakura noticed that it was a small creased piece of paper. She slowly straightened it up and read the words that were written in black ink.

_‘The council is on the move. Watch out for Hiruzen.’_

_What?! The council?!_

Was _that_ the reason why she’d come back to Konoha? It would make sense, since she truly cared about Sarutobi and she did hate the council. Sakura shook her head. They shouldn’t be plotting anything at a time like this. Why would they target the Hokage? _How_ did anyone find out and why warn Tsunade of all people? Why wasn’t the Hokage himself warned about it? Did Tsunade talk to him about it before she died?

Sakura took a deep breath in and glanced at Tsunade’s face once again before closing the cold chamber softly. Sakura kept her thoughts at bay as she checked the room to make sure it was as she had found it and then walked out of the room.

She got home safely and made sure that no one had seen or heard her. She entered her room, sighing in relief when she realized that her parents hadn’t noticed her absence. Sakura sat down on her bed, took off her clothes and got under the covers.

Tsunade was actually dead. The whole scenario had played out in a way where everything had turned out fine, except for _this_. Sakura just knew that she would’ve been able to do something about it if she’d been more careful. If she’d only stayed with her shishou after healing the civilians. If she’d only stopped Gaara before she would’ve been able to give her mentor support in healing the rest of the village. If only _Naruto_ hadn’t called Gaara a monster, maybe he would’ve kept what little sanity he had left at that moment. If that had been the case, Sakura knew that _she_ could’ve done something to prevent Tsunade’s death. She knew that it wasn’t right to think that way of her best friend, but she couldn’t help but curse Naruto’s impulsiveness and loud mouth.

And now there was the looming threat of the corrupt council taking a different course of action in this timeline. There was a tight knot in her throat and a sinking feeling that whoever had killed Tsunade would make another move sooner or later. Sakura could only hope to find out who that was and have a plan before it happened. As sleep took over, after hours of restlessness, Sakura hoped she would get at least a few hours of sleep that night.

_“Sakura.”_

_“Tsunade-shishou!” Sakura straightened up as she looked up from her book and into the chestnut eyes of her mentor._

_“How are you feeling?” Tsunade asked as she took a seat next to her student._

_“Err.. I’m fine. Why do you ask?” Sakura asked as she forced a small smile._

_“Don’t lie to me.” She sighed. “You know what I mean; Sasuke joining the Akatsuki.”_

_“I… I don’t know what to feel about that.” Sakura frowned and clenched her hands as she looked down at her lap. “I can’t believe that he did that. I don’t understand why he would join the criminal organization in which his brother once took part. What should I do? I know that since I’m a Konoha kunoichi I should hate him. Despise him. I should want to see his head roll after all he’s done. But…” Sakura chocked on her upcoming tears. “But I don’t. I love him even more than I did before. I don’t have control over these feelings but I wish I did. It’ll destroy me one day, shishou.”_

_“It won’t.” Tsunade smiled. “Listen to me. It’s true that you are a soldier from Konoha and that you have a duty. However, you are also Sakura. Not all of your life will be in line with your work. It’s ok to have feelings that are not in the best interest of the village.”_

_“You mean that?” Sakura’s eyes widened and she wiped a lone tear away._

_“I’m not saying that you should deflect or betray us, because that would certainly be a bad decision. However, you shouldn’t try to force your feelings away, because it’ll only make things worse. It just means that you have a big heart and that you don’t hold a grudge against the Uchiha brat. You can still hold on to your feelings, because love is_ never _a bad thing. You must understand that anyone can be loved, no matter how many bad choices they make in life. Accept that you love him despite the fact that you may be enemies now. You can fight and kill someone you love, if you believe it’s the right thing to do. True strength comes from being able to separate both things and understand that love doesn’t always mean being too indulgent.”_

 _“I… I think I understand what you mean.” Sakura frowned. “But I don’t think I’m strong enough. I always cry and I’m too emotional for my own good. It always gets in the way of everything I want to do. I’m_ weak. _”_

_“You’re wrong. Accepting one’s real feelings reflects true strength. You are not afraid of them and you’re not afraid of letting others know about them. ” Her hand traveled to Sakura’s clenched hands and softly took a hold of them. “You may not realize it yet, but you are just like that. The feelings that move you forward are always noble. I’m certain that, when you’re older and have more experience balancing those feelings and your duty, you’ll be someone everyone will look up to.” Sakura locked eyes with her shishou and the blonde smiled softly. Her hand left the pinkette’s and her arm circled around her. “Sakura, always remember that you are strong. I’m proud of you.”_

**\- x -**

The Hokage had organized an elaborate ceremony for Tsunade’s death. Everyone in the village had been asked to attend during the late afternoon of the second day after the invasion. Sakura finished her duty at the hospital and went home to get dressed in black. When she arrived to the funeral, she noticed that it was already packed with shinobi and that everyone was waiting for the Hokage to make a speech. Sakura quickly walked to the front and went to Tsunade’s coffin. It was closed. She had hoped to at least get one last glimpse at her mentor’s features before saying goodbye. Sakura inhaled slowly, steadily and kneeled in front of her shishou’s coffin. She left a flower at the foot of it and closed her eyes for a second.

_I’m grateful that I got to meet you in my past life and that you saw me not only as a student, but as a daughter. I had hoped to meet you in this life again… I’m sorry for letting you die, shishou. Let your soul find rest from all the pain and hardship that it’s been put through. Thank you for everything you did. I love you so much._

Sakura stayed kneeled for another moment before standing up and moving aside, allowing someone else to step closer to Tsunade’s body. Sakura looked to the side and noticed that Shizune was standing on the right side of her shishou’s coffin. Had she seen Tsunade’s death? Was she somewhere else when it had happened? Sakura soon forgot her questions when she took a good look at her future – or previous – friend’s face. There were dark bags under her eyes and her expression was just devastating. Tsunade had been the only person that she’d ever had to rely on for the longest time. Sakura could only imagine how much worse her pain was.

Sakura had always taken to heart her shishou’s advice on not being afraid of showing her true feelings. It had always been the most honest and easiest way of dealing with anything. Sadly, she knew that this was not the case at the moment. Her feelings had to remain a secret if she wanted to protect Sasuke from the council. Hell, her whole identity was to be kept hidden. She wasn’t even supposed to know Tsunade. Sakura had prayed more than expected of a stranger, but she had allowed herself that gesture. However, crying or weeping, or even showing more grief than average was out of the question.

Sakura walked back to the audience slowly and with her eyes trained on the ground. The suppressed emotions of sadness and guilt were dwelling inside of her and disturbing her usual demeanor. She could feel the negative emotions build up into something unstable inside of her. She had been keeping them at bay for the whole day after all.

Sakura found a spot in the back of the audience, where there were mostly civilians that had barely even heard of Tsunade. Soon, the Hokage walked up the stage and everyone stopped whispering altogether.

"First of all, I want to thank you all for attending." He began with a deep low voice. "Tsunade was my student for many years. She had one of the gentlest souls amongst shinobi. I always remember how furiously she had refused to kill anyone on her first higher ranked missions. Most people in the profession said that she was no good and that she better find a different job. However, Tsunade was a stubborn person and she refused to back down. She kept saying that her reason for being a shinobi was to protect her loved ones and her village, but that she didn’t want to spill blood unless absolutely necessary.

It was precisely that way of thinking that made her into one of the three sanin, the strongest shinobi team of our time. Her dedication to life and peace pushed her to develop the use of chakra for medical procedures on a whole new level. Tsunade’s strength didn’t rely on destruction or death - that didn’t mean she was an opponent to be taken lightly - but on her ability to save lives. I remember that her thirst for justice and life always created the most unexpected turn of events during missions. More than once she defied orders and offered to heal one of the opponents in exchange for peace. At the time I was sometimes aggravated by her actions, but I was young and I hadn’t realized the real value of her perspective. I now see her as she truly was; a person with an undying love for humanity and a strong sense of justice. If the leaders of the countries and shinobi villages had only a fraction of her kindness, then the world would be a better place for those who are unprotected.

Just as she had been doing all her life, she chose to save as many lives as possible two days ago. When the attack started she stubbornly tried to talk the fake Kazekage into peace, saying that we could try to find a solution that was suitable for all parties. When that failed, she decided to use her medical expertise to heal the injured around the village. We believe that she healed about five hundred civilians and shinobi that day. After that, she came to my aid and fought alongside me in my battle against the enemy. I had almost forgotten about the terrifying offensive strength she possessed. If it weren’t for her intervention I would not have survived the encounter. Her presence in our village during the attack was a blessing and maybe the outcome would’ve been completely different if she hadn’t come.

We owe her so much. I owe her so much. I think I speak in behalf of everyone here when I say that we are grateful for her sacrifice. Her soul will always be a part of the eternal flame that burns within the people of Konoha and she will always be remembered as a hero." Sarutobi walked a couple steps to the coffin and laid a flower on the floor in front of it. He then placed his hand on the wooden surface and closed his eyes.

"Rest in peace."

The speech ended and everyone started moving away, slowly leaving the courtyard. However, Sakura was frozen in place and had her eyes lost in the distance. She had been struggling to keep a straight face for the whole ceremony and felt like she was about to break down anytime now. She had stopped suppressing her emotions a while ago and she was now reminded of just how terrible it felt. It was like poison. On some level she felt she could relate to Sasuke at that moment, knowing that he had kept his feelings to himself for most of his life. Sakura closed her eyes for another moment and took a deep breath to try and calm her inner turmoil, she was on the brink of shaking.

“Saaakura-chan!” a voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes to see Sasuke and Naruto walking her way. The blonde was running to her with a smile on his face and waving furiously.

“Hey.” Sakura greeted back and tried to get a better hold of her emotions as they came to a stop in front of her.

“We haven’t seen you since the invasion.” Sasuke pointed out.

“I’ve been busy at the hospital.” Sakura said shortly and looked aside, expecting her teammates to understand that she had a lot to do and leave her alone.

“Well, I’m kidnapping you from those slave drivers for rest of today and we’re all going to Ichiraku’s! I’m sure that _you_ haven’t had the time to celebrate.” Naruto beamed and took a hold of Sakura’s hand and pulled her forward.

“ _Celebrate?_ ” Sakura hissed and pulled her hand back. Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at her with surprise.

“Well… we won. We should celebrate, shouldn’t we?” the blonde said and gestured towards the center of the city with his head, expecting Sakura to accept his invitation.

“ _You_ want to celebrate?” Sakura growled and tightened her fists on her sides. “Don’t you know what you’ve done?!”

“What?” Naruto’s eyes widened and Sasuke seemed a bit stunned at his side.

“How much of an idiot can you actually be to go out to the enemy and call him a monster?!” Sakura practically spat. “If you hadn’t done that maybe Gaara would have never lost control!”

“What the hell!” Naruto gaped. “I know I shouldn’t have, but nothing bad happened because of it!”

“Of course it did!” Sakura barked back at him. “If Tsunade hadn’t had to heal everyone that Gaara injured or if I’d stayed with her as a supporting medic, maybe she’d be alive now! You call that _nothing_?!”

“You’re completely over-reacting!” Naruto yelled back with a voice that sounded a bit broken and hurt clear in his eyes at the harsh words of his friend. “There are always casualties during a war or an invasion! She could’ve died anyways! You can’t blame it all on me!”

“Shut up.” Sakura grunted as her tense arms shook at her sides. “ _You_ have no idea what could’ve happened. _You_ were the one who didn’t even think of the consequences as you came and insulted someone you thought was a monster! _You_ should know that maybe her death is on you.”

Naruto widened his eyes at Sakura once again. He opened his mouth to say something else, but no sound came out. He closed his mouth and looked at the floor, his bangs covering his eyes. A couple seconds of tense silence went by as the three of them stood motionlessly.

“Whatever.” Naruto seethed and turned around to run away.

Sakura stood there in the now empty courtyard as she covered her face with her hands for a moment. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled steadily to clear her mind. Her mind had been such a confusing swirl of emotions that she barely recalled what she’d said to Naruto. The only thing left in her now was a nasty taste in her mouth and a bigger knot in her throat. Sakura looked up from the floor with dismay and noticed that Sasuke was still standing next to her. His sharp eyes were directed at her and he was thoroughly scrutinizing her.

"What’s wrong with you?" He said in a calm voice, but she could tell that there was some disappointment in his eyes when he spoke.

"I..." Sakura said but felt her words stuck on her tongue. What was she even supposed to say? "I think I fucked up."

"You did." Sasuke said seriously. "I know Naruto might be an idiot sometimes, but he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. I’ve never seen you talk to him that way. Even I wouldn’t speak to him so harshly now."

"I know." Sakura whispered and felt tears well in her eyes. "I wasn’t thinking straight."

Sakura suddenly felt overly self-conscious and she was about to burst into tears right there. She turned around and was about to take a step away from Sasuke, but a firm hold on her hand stopped her dead in her tracks. Sakura stopped walking but didn’t turn around, knowing that Sasuke was right behind her.

"You didn’t answer my question." He said in a voice that Sakura swore was almost kind. "What’s wrong with you?"

Sakura didn’t turn to face him as she felt the dam that held her feelings in place break apart. As the tears started flowing freely down her cheeks, she couldn’t keep the whimpers from escaping her lips. She put her free hand over her lower face as she tried to get a hold of herself, but failed. Sakura had expected Sasuke to release his hold on her hand. But as seconds passed and he didn’t, she concluded that he would not let her go without an explanation.

Sakura slowly turned around and looked at Sasuke's face. Even though his body was a bit tense due to his probable uneasiness around a crying person, Sakura saw the determination evident on his face. She looked down at his grasp on her forearm and he slowly released her, as if expecting her to run off.

"I... I lashed out at Naruto because something happened." Sakura said uneasily as she tried to keep her crying at bay. She bit her lower lip as she thought of a way to end the subject. "He didn’t deserve it and I will apologize, so you don’t have to worry."

"He'll be fine after you clear things up with him." He said and eyed her with observant eyes. "I’ve never seen you like this. _What_ exactly happened?"

"I..." Sakura said in a low voice and wondered what she could tell him. Sasuke was smart; he was not going to buy some lame excuse and Sakura couldn’t figure out a plausible reason that he figure as a lie. Her eyes were troubled and there was a frown on her features as she looked into his eyes. "I... I can't tell you. Not yet."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he watched her with what appeared to be concern. Sakura was almost surprised to see that look on his face, since she'd never ever seen him give look that look to anyone. A couple seconds passed by and Sakura was expecting him to press further for answers when he finally spoke up.

"All right. But if you run into any trouble know that you can count on us." He said calmly and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Sakura’s eyes widened further at the overall calm way he was reacting towards her. After her previous life, Sakura had become used to being treated kind of badly and impatiently by Sasuke. The fact that he was actually being considerate and nice to her made her feel less terrible about herself.

"Thank you." She smiled and wiped her tears from her cheek with the back of her hand.

"What for?" Sasuke asked with his hand still on her shoulder.

"For being here. For caring." Sakura said knowing that the word 'care' might be stretching reality a bit.

"Don’t thank me. It’s what we're supposed to do, right?" He shrugged nonchalantly but there was a slight blush on his cheeks.

Sakura smiled at his shyness and wondered if he'd meant it as a teammate or as a friend. However, before Sakura could think of saying anything else, a poof of smoke materialized next to them.

"Yo!" Kakashi waved. "It's good to see you two together. The Hokage wants the two of you in his office immediately."

Sakura and Sasuke quietly wondered what was going on, but nodded nonetheless. Kakashi looked at Sakura for a moment, probably noticing that she’d been crying. Thankfully, he seemed to realized that it was none of his business, because he simply waved them goodbye and poofed away. Sasuke looked at Sakura, who still seemed a bit shaken due to the recent events.

“Sakura.” he called her. “We can’t keep him waiting.”

“I know.” she closed her eyes for a second. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

They started walking towards the appointed place side by side. Sakura managed to gather herself on the way and made sure that her eyes didn’t seem too red or puffy. Five minutes later, they were walking through the doors to the Hokage’s office.

“Finally.” Sarutobi motioned for them to stand in front of him. Sakura and Sasuke did so and came to a stop next to Shikamaru, who was also standing in front of the Hokage. “I have a lot to do, so I will tell you this straight. You three passed the chunin exam.”

“Really?” Sakura asked after a couple seconds of silence. “Wasn’t the exam cancelled because of the invasion?”

“It was. But I saw enough.” The Hokage said. “Sasuke showed great fighting abilities during his fight with Kankuro. He also displayed his ability to use slightly advanced tactical thinking. Apart from that, he also won against an older shinobi, who not only is strong but was also trained by the Kazekage.” He nodded at Sasuke.

“Thank you, sir.” Sasuke managed to speak through his surprise.

“Secondly, Sakura’s fight against Gaara also showed advanced fighting skills. Her tactical skills were of an average level, but I heard that she showed great leadership during the invasion when there were wounded civilians. Apart from that, Tsunade seemed to notice your abilities, since she asked for your match to be postponed so that she could watch it.” He nodded at Sakura.

“Thank you, sir.” She bowed slightly, trying to keep her emotions at Tsunade’s name at bay.

“And last but not least, Shikamaru. You lost your fight against Temari and only showed medium level fighting skills. However, I heard that your tactical abilities during the invasion were outstanding. You managed to make a complex strategy to divert the enemy and keep them at bay. You also showed great leadership and innately commanded chunins in a chaotic situation.” He nodded at Shikamaru.

“Thank you, sir.” He repeated the same words as the other two shinobi at his side.

“After a bit of consideration, I came to the conclusion that you three are good enough to become chunin even though you’re still young. Your abilities would be wasted on D and C ranked missions and we need more manpower now that the village had tightened its security.” The Hokage said and motioned for an ANBU that was next to him to come closer. “Please bring their new chunin vests now.” The ANBU nodded once and disappeared from the room. “So, this may seem a bit sudden, but I have a mission for you.”

The Hokage stood up from his armchair and walked to a bookcase that was behind him. It was filled with scrolls and some of them were even about to fall off due of the lack of room. As Sarutobi looked around, the three newly promoted chunin looked at each other with curiosity. It was certainly strange for them to get promoted _and_ sent on a mission at the same time.

“Here it is.” Their leader finally said as he took a scroll and sat back down. He handed it to Shikamaru and he took it immediately. “The mission I’ve assigned to you is to accompany Suna’s party back to their village. Many of their shinobi are hurt and therefore their ability to defend themselves has been compromised. The Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru and his three children are amongst the group, so they might be targeted by enemies. This mission is important because we’ve had a hard time establishing a minimal amount of peace between our two villages and this is a chance to show our willingness to keep good relations. The three of you might be wondering why it is that the three of you will be assigned to this.” The three chunin nodded their heads. “The village is in great need of protection, so every high-ranked shinobi are being  assigned to guard duty. Genin aren’t allowed to leave the village without their jonin-sensei, so they don’t qualify. Every other chunin are already familiar with our security protocol. So, the most logical solution was for the three of you, who just passed the chunin exam, to go. Besides that, you all seem to be rather collected, responsible, and smart. So I don’t think you’ll fail this mission. _Don’t_ , because it’ll only make securing peace with Suna even harder.”

“Hai!” the three responded. The ANBU came into the office once again and handed a chunin vest to each of them.

“Shikamaru, you’ll be in charge of this B-ranked mission and there’s a map inside. It’ll be of help in case anything happens on your way back.”

“Thank you, sir.” Shikamaru nodded. “When will we be leaving?”

“Suna’s party only stayed to attend Tsunade’s funeral out of respect. You can imagine that they have a lot to deal with back in their own village, so they’ll be leaving in half an hour. You have just enough time to go home, throw together a travelling bag, and get to the village gates. Get going now, we don’t want you to keep them waiting.”

“Hai!”

The three of them bowed at the Hokage and quickly left the room. As soon as they were out of the building and on the street, Shikamaru took off. Sasuke was about to do the same when he noticed Sakura staring at the pavement with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Naruto. I can’t leave for _weeks_ without apologizing to him first.” She frowned.

“I know.” Sasuke nodded once. “If we run to find him we can still manage to get to the gates in time.”

Sakura raised her eyebrows at the implied offer of company in his sentence and smiled. The two of them took off at a great speed towards Naruto’s place, jumping above rooftops. They soon got to the run-down building in which Naruto lived. They arrived at his front door and Sakura knocked on it a couple times.

“Naruto! It’s me, Sakura!” she called. “I’m so sorry. Please let me in for a moment.”

Sadly, no one answered the door and Sakura felt that her time was running out. They had their first mission as chunin and they couldn’t show up _late_ for it. She sighed and her shoulders dropped considerably. She was about to turn around and leave for good, when she felt Sasuke shuffle behind her. Sakura turned around and saw that he was handing her a small piece of paper and a bit of ink that they’d usually use for writing seals.

“Sasuke.” She smiled honestly and her eyes softened. “Thank you.”

Sasuke just averted his eyes, still shy about being thanked so openly. Sakura took the paper and ink from him and kneeled on the ground.

_Naruto. Sasuke and I are being sent away on a mission for a couple of weeks. I wanted to talk to you before leaving, but you were not home. Know that I deeply regret what I said. You’re my best friend and you mean so much to me. Please let’s talk this through when I come back. Love, Sakura._

Sakura pushed the small piece of paper under his door with enough force so that Naruto wouldn’t step on in when walking through the door. She stood up once again and exhaled softly. She turned to Sasuke and they shared a nod, silently agreeing on meeting at the Gates.

Sakura ran home at top speed and quickly entered her bedroom. She gathered traveling clothes, some other basic necessities, a bit of food, and medical supplies into a bag. She walked down the stairs quickly and saw that her father was standing in the kitchen. He saw her wearing her chunin vest and jumped in surprise. He ran towards her and hugged her tightly as he shouted his congratulations. She immediately informed him that she would be gone for a couple of weeks on a mission and he wished her luck with a wide smile.

Sakura got to the gates just in time and noticed that Shikamaru was already there. Sasuke got there just a couple seconds later and they all looked around to make sure everyone was there before leaving. As the whole party walked out of the village, Sakura looked back over her shoulder. She had half expected to see Naruto standing there and watching her, but he was nowhere in sight. She turned around once again and sighed, her inner turmoil becoming alive once again, now that her mind had no more distractions.

“Don’t worry.” Sasuke simply said.

Sakura nodded absentmindedly, but her worries never left her. She’d never fought with Naruto before, not like this at least. Apart from that, she hadn’t gotten the chance to tell him she was sorry. What if he didn’t find the note? What if he built a grudge against her in the time that she was gone?

If something was _supposed_ to survive and last against all odds in this timeline, it was her friendship with Naruto. She would be damned if she lost that.

**A/N: OK! Here goes chapter 19. To all of you who thought that Tsunade might’ve lived…sorry. It was sad to write this chapter, since I really like her as a character.**

**What did you guys think of Sakura and Naruto’s exchange? And her interaction with Sasuke afterwards?**

**Sakura, Sasuke and Shikamaru are now chunin! Is that too weird?**

**On top of everything, the three of them were sent on a mission.**

**I want to thank my beta MonochromeAce for her help, and also everyone who reviews!**

**Cheers!**


	20. Journey to Suna

** CHAPTER 20 **

The journey to Suna was anything but pleasant. After three days of walking, the landscape had turned from a lush green forest into bushlands and then into an unprotected steppe. While the first two nights of camp had been comfortable enough, the climate of the steppe was a completely different matter. First of all, due to the lack of atmospheric humidity, the days had become increasingly hot and the nights increasingly cold. Apart from that, the lack of trees did little to protect them from the strong winds, so the freezing nights were even harder to endure.

Sakura had travelled to Suna a couple times in her previous life, so she had foreseen how troublesome it was going to get. She had packed a warm blanket for nighttime and thin clothes for their travels during day. Shikamaru was an incredibly smart boy and had a family that knew the terrain well enough, so he had also packed everything that he needed. However, Sasuke had apparently not thought things through. Not only had he never gone to Suna before but he also lived on his own and had been in as much of a rush as she had. The first two nights had been as he had probably expected, but now there was a deep scowl on his face as he sat in front of the fire the travelling group had built, which was clearly not enough to keep him warm with only a thin blanket covering him. He was just finishing his portion of food when a voice called out to him.

“You really didn’t think things through when you packed your stuff, huh?” Sakura chuckled as she sat down next to him with her warm blanked wrapped around herself.

“You could’ve warned me too.” He scowled and averted his eyes. His pride must’ve been hurt when realizing that he’d been the only one to oversee the conditions of their travel.

“Sorry.” Sakura sheepishly smiled and then looked at the fire that was burning in front of them. “When we parted ways after going to Naruto’s I was not thinking about the mission at all.”

“I know.” He said.

Sakura moved a bit to unfold her blanket and handed one end to Sasuke, wordlessly offering him to share. He looked at the floor stubbornly and shook his head in refusal. Sakura sighed in defeat and wrapped herself once again. Ever since they’d left Konoha, Sakura hadn’t had much of a conversation with Sasuke because they had made the most of the day and had only made camp to sleep. Now that they were nearing the desert, they were forced to build a fire a bit before dusk and thus had more free time. Now that she had more time to think, she looked at the fire and felt her mind filled with worries about Naruto once again.

“Do you think that Naruto will forgive me?” she said in almost a whisper.

“Don’t tell me you’re still worried about that.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow and stole a glance at her.

“Well… I said some pretty harsh things at him back there. After years of friendship I’d never talked to him that way, you said it yourself. Besides, I left immediately after that and probably won’t have the chance to apologize for weeks. He must’ve found out that we left already and I can only imagine how angry he must be.”

“I don’t think he’s angry at you; I think he’s hurt.” Sasuke reassured her, but it only made her feel worse. “I’m certain that once you talk to him he will forgive you. I don’t know if he’s told _you_ , but he’s told me how much you mean to him.”

“He has?” Sakura raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah.” Sasuke’s eyes were trained on the fire. “He told me that he’d been alone all his life until you decided to be friends with him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so grateful of having a friend. I’m sure that the two of you will work things out.”

Sakura looked down at her hands and felt her own confidence on their friendship come back at the Uchiha’s words. She actually _knew_ that they would be friends for a long time, but couldn’t help feeling worried and guilty at her actions. As the silence stretched for a bit, her inner turmoil calmed once again.

“Why aren’t you wearing something warm?” Shikamaru’s voice rang as he neared his fellow chunin, covered in a blanket as well. Sasuke averted his eyes and Shikamaru grunted in dismay. “Don’t tell me that you forgot to pack clothes for the cold.”

“He didn’t.” Sakura answered for him when he remained quiet once again.

“So troublesome.” Shikamaru groaned and then eyed Sakura. “Why aren’t you sharing with him?”

“Err…” she bit her lip as she thought of an answer that didn’t make Sasuke look bad.

“I refused. It’s my responsibility, so she doesn’t need to.” Sasuke said.

“Well, _you_ are my responsibility during this mission and I don’t want any of you getting sick in the desert.” Shikamaru said seriously and sat on the other side of Sasuke. He unfolded his blanket and handed one end to Sasuke. “Take it, I should’ve told you to pack something warm anyways. If the three of us share we probably won’t be cold.”

Sasuke reluctantly looked at the Nara boy, quietly disagreeing with him. But Shikamaru lazily raised an eyebrow at him and Sasuke had no choice but to take it. Sakura giggled a bit at their antics and wrapped Sasuke in her own blanket as well. The Uchiha closed his eyes in discomfort at having his personal space reduced to almost zero, but said nothing else.

“I know that you’re not happy with this, Uchiha.” Shikamaru said after a moment of silence. “But we can’t jeopardize this mission.”

“That’s true.” Sakura pointed out. “Both Konoha and Suna are quite unstable, since we were just invaded and they lost their Kage. If we want to ensure some minimum level of security for our homes, we have to make sure that we’re at least working together. If we don’t, we will be seen as weak by other nations and they might take the chance to try to take us down.”

“Exactly.” Shikamaru said. “Konoha’s defensive force is quite understaffed right now due to the large amount of shinobi that are being asked to guard the towns near the village. If something were to happen, the time needed to inform the Hokage and make a move would be short.”

“Not only that.” Sakura added. “Our village is currently putting a great amount of human resources into rebuilding what was destroyed. That feat is not only being carried out by civilians, but genin and low level chunin as well. This means that both the productive activities and shinobi missions will decrease tremendously. If our economy is too slow it’ll be a weak spot for other nations to take advantage of. Armed attacks aren’t the only way to bring a nation down. In fact, the most efficient way to do that is by destroying their economy and political stability. Both Konoha and Suna will be easy targets for at least a couple months until things have settled down a bit.”

“Making an alliance with Suna will make up for that temporary weakness.” Sasuke nodded in understanding. “Especially considering that every other shinobi village has no long-term allies and usually act on their own.”

“Yes.” Sakura casted a glance at him and Sasuke almost flinched at the seriousness in her eyes. “So, Shikamaru is right. We can’t afford to have you getting sick while crossing the desert and putting our mission in danger.”

Sasuke sighed softly and looked at the ground in defeat. Both shinobi at his sides had practically left him with no other choice but to fully cooperate with their intentions of _sharing blankets._ He made a mental note to make sure to take everything that he needed for his next missions so that he wouldn’t have to go through this again.

Shikamaru eyed Sakura for a second from the other side of the Uchiha. She had noticed that he had sent a couple examining glances her way since their departure, but had tried to ignore them to the best of her ability. With Tsunade’s death and her argument with Naruto she had enough on her mind and didn’t want to even think about the Nara’s apparent suspicions. A minute or two were spent in silence as they watched the fire burn in front of them until Temari approached the group of Konoha shinobi.

“Hey.” She greeted as she sat down in front of them and they nodded in response. “I wanted to apologize for the trouble we caused. My brothers and I had noticed that something seemed off with our father, but had dismissed it when we shouldn’t have.”

“It was probably for the best. Orochimaru would certainly have killed anyone suspicious of him.” Sakura added. “I’m sorry about your father.”

Temari nodded gratefully at the pinkette and then quickly looked at the other two teens in front of her. She frowned for a moment and then pointed at Shikamaru.

“Oi. How come you became a chunin?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “I can see why Sakura and Sasuke passed the exam, because they showed great ability during their fights. But why did _you_ pass? I was the one to win our fight.”

“The Hokage considered that the leading abilities and tactical thinking I showed during the invasion were outstanding – his words not mine – so he decided that I was to become a chunin too.” He answered bluntly.

“Well, you will definitely have to improve your fighting skills, because according to what I experienced you wouldn’t last a minute against a regular chunin.” Temari said seriously and threw a twig into the fire that was burning in front of her. Shikamaru’s eye twitched and she noticed that her words might be taken as offending. “I don’t mean it in a negative way; I’m just giving you a piece of advice. I can tell that you’re smart and that you’d be a good team leader, but you also probably don’t want to drag your team down.”

“Eh, thank you I guess.” Shikamaru said with a hint of laziness in his voice.

“When _you_ become strong enough I will fight you once again and prove that a sharp mind isn’t all that’s needed to be a good shinobi. I will become a chunin in the next exam, so you better be prepared for that.”

“Whatever.” Shikamaru sighed. “That’s so troublesome.”

Temari laughed loudly as she stood up and then left their spot. The three of Konoha nin watched as the group of Suna – which consisted in around 7 members – finished their dinner and started getting ready for sleep.

Shikamaru didn’t blame Sasuke for being reluctant when it came to sharing blankets and bedrolls with them. He thought that it was pretty awkward too and he was definitely going to get the best deal out the arrangement.

“I say that it’s you who should sleep in the middle, Sasuke.” He said before anyone could suggest anything else. “After all, it was you who forgot to bring something warmer.”

“Tch. All right.” Sasuke said and watched as Shikamaru motioned for the three of them to lay down. They did and Sasuke immediately turned to the right, since he had never been able to sleep on his back. He had chosen to face Shikamaru, because he knew that facing Sakura might be a bit uncomfortable since she was a female.

“And _don’t_ try to cuddle with me.” Shikamaru warned.

Sasuke quietly cursed the Nara for that and turned to his other side. Sakura was right in front of him. She was so close that he could actually detect her scent and some of her short hair brushing against his nose. The close proximity to his female friend was something that had never bothered him before in this kind of situation. But for some reason now it did. He felt a bit restless and couldn’t tear his mind from the bits of pink hair that were tingling his face. Sasuke sighed and brushed her hair aside with the back of his hand before closing his eyes and forcing himself to fall asleep.

Sakura was trying hard to get control of herself. His body was so close to her that she could feel his body heat on her back and legs. Apart from that, Sasuke’s fingers against the hair on the nape of her neck had sent shivers all the way down her spine. It was crazy what Sasuke’s touch did to her, but she was refusing to fully acknowledge that train of thought. Sakura didn’t know if she should be grateful for Shikamaru or not.

She guessed that she had to be. The past nights had been quite difficult for her, because she kept on having dreams about Tsunade’s death. However, she had managed to find a sleeping spot that was as secluded as it could get without raising suspicions. She had actually woken up a couple times at night shaking and breathing hard, but had been too far for anyone to notice. Now that she’d been forced to sleep with Shikamaru and Sasuke, she was quite worried that she’d wake them up. With the distraction of Sasuke’s body practically spooning her own, she guessed that the chances of having a nightmare were much lower.

Sakura knew that it wasn’t right to think that way since Sasuke didn’t have a _choice_ on the matter and he would be appalled if he knew. But Sakura just _had_ to relish in the feeling of Sasuke’s closeness. Not only were they incredibly close, but they were also sharing a blanket. The whole scenario seemed so intimate – in her mind at least, because she knew that it was not – that she felt a small smile tug at her lips.

Suddenly, a small chuckle brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Temari watching her intently. She had raised an eyebrow and there was a playful smirk on her lips. Sakura had been busted… just what kind of face had she made just now?! The pinkette felt heat come to her cheeks and immediately closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She wished that she could just turn around and avoid the feeling of Temari observing her, but she couldn’t just sleep _face to face_ with Sasuke. So she simply bore it and waited until sleep overcame her.

**-x-**

The next day the whole group had left at first light. They wanted to cover as much ground as possible before the scorching heat of midday was upon them. Sakura hadn’t had any nightmares that night and was now deeply grateful that she’d been able to sleep next to Sasuke. Having four straight nights of barely any sleep after the last phase of the chunin exam had made her agitated and tense. Sleeping next to someone that meant so much to her had seemed to somehow ease her troubles.

Unluckily, Temari had not forgotten what she’d seen last night. Because as she walked next to her brothers or Shikamaru – for some reason they’d been hanging out a bit during their travel – she had thrown a couple of smug smirks at Sakura. Every time she did, Sakura had been forced to look away and pretend like she hadn’t noticed her whimsical behavior.

“Is something going on between the two of you?” Sasuke asked out of the blue.

“Huh?” Sakura turned to look at him slightly surprised, because he hadn’t said a word for hours. It was to be expected, the searing sun had been ruthless enough to make the three Konoha shinobi lazy and unwilling to make any additional effort. The people from Suna were not only used to this kind of exposure, but they could also use the Sunblock technique. Sakura knew how to use it as well, so she’d been the most alert of the three of them, but it still didn’t prepare her for Sasuke’s sudden question.

“I _said_.” He gritted his teeth as he swept some more sweat off his forehead; the hot dry climate of the desert had only shortened his already limited patience. “Is there something going on between Temari and you?”

“Oh. Not at all.” Sakura waved him off nonchalantly. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve noticed how she keeps throwing these mocking glances your way.”

“She has?”

“ _Sakura._ I know you too well.” Sasuke groaned. “I can tell that you’ve been trying to avoid eye contact with her all this time.”

“Oh.” Sakura said and looked at her feet. “It’s nothing. Just some harmless teasing.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her answer and then turned to look at the blonde kunoichi. She was telling Shikamaru something and was grinning as he frowned and shrugged lazily. Her apparent teasing stopped once she sensed Sasuke’s eyes on her and she looked up. As soon as she noticed that he was eyeing her questioningly she beamed widely and marched their way. Sakura immediately figured out what she was planning as she was already familiar with Temari’s sense of humor.

_Oh, please don’t._

“So!” she said as she started walking next to Sasuke. “How’s our cuddling couple handling the sun, huh?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened in surprise and turned to look to the other side, where Sakura was. She groaned in dismay and rubbed her temples as she leaned forward in order to have a better look at Temari, pointedly ignoring Sasuke’s eyes.

“The _sun_ is not a problem, thank you very much.” Sakura forced a smile. Her eyes trailed towards Shikamaru before locking back on the blonde’s face. “I can see that you have your own plans for cuddling, so if you need someone to take your blanket I would gladly take it off your hands.”

“What?!” she gaped. “I would never take a second look at that brat!”

“That’s not what it looks like to me.” Sakura smirked and Sasuke snorted next to her, further annoying Temari.

Temari gaped a bit at Sakura and then smirked widely to Sakura’s surprise. She stopped for a second and then walked behind both Konoha shinobi to end up on Sakura’s side. Her arm circled around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

“You’re not that bad, huh?” Temari laughed loudly. “I never imagined that a thirteen year old girl with _pink_ hair would respond that way. I like you.”

Sakura laughed lightly and watched as Temari immediately retreated, noticing her slight awkwardness after Sakura pointed Shikamaru out. The pinkette sighed and then looked at Sasuke, who returned the look with a raised eyebrow.

“She was teasing you about _that_?”

“Yeah. Pretty ridiculous, huh?” Sakura said with the best poker face she could manage.

“Absolutely. It was just something that needed to be done to secure the mission’s success.” He said seriously and looked up ahead.

Sakura and Sasuke stayed mostly quiet for the rest of the day and only exchanged a couple words. After Temari’s blunt comment, she’d become too shy to say anything else to Sasuke. She kept wondering if he would notice something weird in her behavior, but at least he didn’t say anything about it.

After a whole day of walking through the desert, enduring not only the hot temperature and wind, but also the lack of moisture in the air and the sand that kept on getting everywhere, the air finally began to cool down. In a matter of minutes, the unbearably hot climate became unbearably cold. They were supposed to arrive in Suna a couple hours ago, but since most of Suna’s party was injured the traveling pace was slightly slower. Thankfully, the Sand village was already in sight and they would probably reach the village gates in about fifteen minutes.

Sakura wanted to take out her blanket right then and there, because the cold was freezing her to the bone. She could also see Sasuke slightly shaking next to her. Sakura knew that it would not look good to enter the village wrapped up in a thick warm blanket, so she didn’t even think about it. However, it didn’t hurt to imagine how good it would feel.

A tiny jolt in the surroundings suddenly alerted Sakura. She quickly looked around and noticed that everyone else was walking as if they’d felt nothing. It had been so small that only a high level jonin would be able to sense it – or any other shinobi that had lived after the ten-tails appearance. Sakura quickly eyed Shikamaru and saw that he was fortuitously looking at her. She cursed inwardly, knowing that he would be _even_ more suspicious if she were to feel a presence not even the present jonin had. So she waited.

A couple seconds later, one of the jonin from Suna turned around sharply and yelled so that everyone was on guard. Suddenly, the soil cracked open and at least fifteen unknown shinobi burst out of the ground. Shikamaru, who was on the other side of the crowd, immediately turned to look at the rest of his team.

“Surround them!” he yelled as he signaled to the group of injured Suna shinobi.

Sakura and Sasuke moved in the blink of an eye and immediately crouched down in defensive positions. The Sand siblings were also on the move fighting the enemies that were trying to attack the injured. Both members of Team 7 quickly engaged into taijutsu battles with one enemy each. It seemed that the one’s they were fighting were low level chunin – maybe even genin – because after a couple moves the unknown shinobi were knocked out cold.

Sakura turned around and saw that Shikamaru was fighting alongside Temari – _figures_ – and Gaara was fighting on his own. Abruptly, she felt a presence behind her and moved just in time block a strong blow to her neck with her forearm. A taijutsu fight with the middle aged kunoichi quickly escalated in brute force and speed. Sakura was barely keeping up with the person she was fighting against even with a bit of chakra and feared that she would have to expose some of her monstrous strength to win this one.

Thankfully, Sasuke came from her right side – it seemed that he had already finished another opponent – and kicked the foreign kunoichi in the ribs. Sakura immediately jumped at her opponent and engaged in battle once again, knowing using any water jutsus would drain too much chakra in this dry climate. She locked eyes with the Uchiha for a split second and he immediately understood her message. As Sasuke made hand signs, Sakura threw a bunch of senbon at her opponent.

“Katon: Gōkakyū no jutsu!” Sasuke yelled.

The kunoichi was too busy blocking the senbon to dodge the incoming fire ball and screamed in agony as she was heavily burnt. Sakura widened her eyes when she saw an especially quick shinobi dashing in a zig-zag pattern towards them. She could barely keep track of him and was sure that he was probably used to always winning with his speed. However, he would be proven wrong this time.

“Sasuke!” Sakura called and the raven haired teen turned around. His blazing sharingan immediately caught what Sakura was warning him about and he jumped in front of Sakura. His kunais clashed with the older shinobi’s tanto swords, stopping him on the spot.

Sakura didn’t waste another second, and was already on them with her arms outstretched in front. Her hands closed on their enemy’s wrists and pumped a bit of chakra into them. He widened his eyes when he noticed that he couldn’t break free from her hold and that Sasuke had moved to the side and was now aiming to slash at the shinobi’s throat. Sasuke’s kunai was about to cut his throat open when the man suddenly gathered chakra to his feet and pushed himself and Sakura backwards at full speed, successfully avoiding the Uchiha’s attack.

Sakura released her hold, knowing that fighting in close combat with such a fast shinobi would only harm her. However, before she could jump back he caught her wrists and tried to put her into a lock. Sakura swiftly moved in the appropriate way to render his move useless and proceeded to throw him to the ground with full force. He slammed against the dry surface and Sakura threw a kunai at his neck. He moved just in time to avoid the weapon, but Sasuke caught up with them just in time and sent a hard kick into the enemy’s back, further knocking the air out of his lungs. Before the man could recover, Sasuke was on him and trying to once again tear his jugular open with his kunai, but his attempt was stopped when Sakura intervened and pushed their opponent out of the way. She made a hand sign and put her hands on the man’s head, immediately rendering him unconscious. Sakura noticed that Sasuke’s kunai had made a cut on her upper arm, but it was nothing serious. The Uchiha glanced at her with slight annoyance and she sighed.

“Someone will have to be questioned.” Sakura simply said. In reality, she had been trying to stop Sasuke from having his first kill. She knew that it wasn’t rational, but she couldn’t help but fear that if he did, he would go down the same dark road as he did in her past life.

For the first time since the battle had started, Sakura took a good look around and could tell that every opponent had been defeated. Sakura took a second glance around and saw that some Suna shinobi seemed to be injured from the assault. She quickly walked their way and assessed them. She put her hands on the most serious injuries to slow down the bleeding.

"They need medical attention soon. I could deal with most of the damage here but the cold won’t help anyone, much less those with more serious injuries." Sakura said seriously and looked at a Suna jonin, who nodded at her and then turned around.

"Everyone who's able will help carry the injured!" He was about to turn to leave when he saw that Sasuke was picking up the last enemy they’d defeated, who was still out cold. "I'll take that one."

Sasuke allowed the higher ranked shinobi to pick the body up and then moved to help someone who was injured. The whole group moved as fast as they could towards the village and managed to get inside the gates within five minutes. Sakura followed the jonin - who was obviously the one in charge on their side - into a particularly large building and noticed that it was the hospital. The place was packed with patients and the arrival of so many injured looked like a curse on the staff's faces. It was clear that they were short on personnel and maybe even supplies. She had already heard the terrible state that Suna's health system was in. It was even rumored that only one medic could use chakra, and not all that well. 

An older medic, who was probably the head of the hospital, came their way and asked them to follow him into a specific room that read 'critical status 3'. The wounded were laid on beds - even on the floor because of how few there were - and the considerably healthy shinobi left the room. Well, every one of them except for the rest of Sakura’s team, who were expected to stay and wait for her so that they could go formally announce their arrival to whoever was in charge now.

"I'll have someone come take a look at them." The head medic said as he left.

Sakura wanted to yell and say that one more medic was not enough, but that was this hospital’s reality. Sakura watched as the said medic walked inside almost immediately after the head left, so she walked up to him.

"I'm a medic too. Come quick." Sakura said and led him to the most critical patient.

They immediately started working together and Sakura quickly took charge of every procedure. The other medic seemed surprised at her knowledge, but was humble enough to allow a thirteen year old to lead him.

Sakura naturally lead him through every procedure that needed to be done on each patient. He didn’t know how to use chakra to heal, so Sakura did most of the raw work of closing up wounds, while he cleaned and patched them up. When her hands left the last injured shinobi of their party, the medic she'd been working with held her wrist softly.

"Please, help me out with the critical civilians next door." Sakura could see the bags under his eyes and hear the pleading tone in his voice as he softly bowed. She could absolutely relate to him; she would feel like that too if Konoha’s hospital worked as poorly as it did in Suna.

Sakura glanced questioningly at Shikamaru and Sasuke, who were leaning on a wall not far from her next to a Suna shinobi who was waiting to escort them to the main tower. Shikamaru sighed - clearly bothered by this - but nodded at her nonetheless and turned to say a couple words to Sasuke. He then left the room, closely followed by the shinobi that had been assigned to them.

Sakura assumed that he would head over to the tower on his own and let her give a hand to the medic. She smiled gratefully and quickly walked next to the Suna medic as he led her out of the room, closely followed by Sasuke. The room next door was packed with gravely injured and sick civilians. There was a strong stench in the air that signaled the lack of proper ventilation in the room. Some of the people were sitting on the floor and Sakura was honestly horrified by the poor conditions these people were being kept in. After taking a good look around, she decided that there were at least thirty patients that needed medical attention immediately.

She quickly took matters into her own hands and confidently walked up to the weakest person in the room. As she started healing and explaining things to the older doctor that had brought her there, she noticed how some of the other medics in the room started giving her curious glances. Soon, they began to approach her when they were faced with a particularly difficult task or when they had questions. Sakura patiently guided each of them, but inwardly flinched at how basic some of the questions were.

In her previous life, Sakura had always worked in a hospital that had been run by Tsunade - who had also been the Hokage - so the health system was as good as it could get. In this life, Konoha's hospital was average in comparison, but it was still one of the best in the shinobi nations. Suna's hospital, on the other hand, was at the bottom of the list. Not only did they have little resources to improve it - considering how much they had to invest in basic needs such as water and food - but they were also pretty isolated from other villages, which meant that most healthcare improvements took longer to reach their village and came at a higher price.

Tsunade had drilled a deep sense of duty and justice into Sakura, so she knew that she would stay and help out for as long as her body was able. Besides, this was a mission that aimed to establish an alliance between Suna and Konoha, so it only made sense that Sakura would give them a hand if she could.

Sakura moved around from patient to patient, helping the under-qualified medics to assess and treat each injury or sickness. Sakura didn’t know how much time had actually passed, but she could guess that it had been at least a couple of hours because her body was numb and her legs were aching. Someone was calling her to take a look at another patient, when her path was suddenly blocked by someone - Sasuke.

"That's enough." he stated with a final tone that no one dared question. He turned around and looked at Sakura over his shoulder narrowing his eyes at her. "Let's go."

Sakura dumbly followed after him, not saying a word. On one hand she was incredibly tired from the long hours of intensive healing and, on the other, Sasuke's dominating nature had somehow managed to quell her usual stubbornness. Sakura felt her eyes grow heavy and her legs shake harder as she almost tripped. Sasuke stopped walking and turned to look at her with a frown. Only then did Sakura notice that he seemed quite upset and decided to ask.

"What?"

"What?" Sasuke replied with a serious tone. "Shouldn't it be obvious? You do know that we need to head out tomorrow at first light, right? Have you taken a look at yourself? Do you think that only five-hours of sleep will replenish all the energy that you've just lost?"

"I'm sorry." Sakura said after slightly widening her eyes in surprise. She hadn’t even thought about that as she healed the people back at the hospital.

"How reckless can you be? You haven't even healed your own wound and can barely stand on your own." he motioned to the arm that had been cut by his kunai during battle.

"Sorry." she looked at the ground. After a couple seconds of silence she heard Sasuke sigh audibly.

"Come on." he said and started walking at a slower pace next to Sakura. He probably wanted to make sure she wouldn’t land on her face if she tripped again.

They silently walked through the deserted streets, which were dimly lit by yellowish street lights. They soon entered the Hokage tower and came to a stop in front of a door on the second floor. Sakura assumed that it was the room that Suna had prepared for them.

"This is your room." Sasuke plainly said.

"What? We're sleeping in different rooms?" she raised her eyebrows in question.

"Yes. Why, were you expecting to share?" he said plainly, with complete honesty and no hint of mischief. Sakura felt a blush appear on her cheeks and she quickly shook her head.

"Oh, not at all. I just assumed that we would." she hastily said, hoping that he wouldn’t figure out what she’d thought of his words. "Anyways, good night!"

"Heal yourself and get to sleep. _Don't stay up working_."

"Hai, hai." Sakura said and opened the door to her room.

As she crawled under the covers, Sakura felt a small smile form on her lips. Sasuke had never known anything about her last time around. But he now seemed to understand her as much as Naruto did, because he had immediately warned her not to give into her workaholic impulses. She didn’t think much more about it, because the exhaustion soon took over her body and she drifted off to sleep.

Sakura woke up to a loud knocking sound and jolted awake. She was disoriented for a moment and had trouble figuring out where exactly she was due to a light headache. Another knock sounded against the door and a voice called from the other side.

"Sakura! We have a meeting with the council in ten minutes!"

It was Shikamaru. Only then did everything come back to her. As she scurried out of her bed, she sent some chakra to her forehead to ease the pain.

"I'll be out in five minutes!" Sakura yelled at the closed door and ran into the attached bathroom.

She took the quickest shower ever, trying to get as much sand out of her hair as possible. After showering, she dried herself in the blink of an eye and quickly moved into the bedroom again. She put on her clothes and then threw everything else inside her travelling pack. After taking one last glance around to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind, Sakura opened the door to find Sasuke and Shikamaru waiting for her in the hallway.

"You did only take five minutes." The lazy genius grunted and started walking at a fast pace. "I must say I'm impressed; I never expected a girl to be up in such a short amount of time."

Sakura simply rolled her eyes and followed him as he turned a particular corner. Soon they were back on the first floor and found themselves entering a grand room that was furnished according to Suna’s traditional style. Behind a dining table sat three old people, who turned around to see the Konoha nin enter the room.

"Ahh, welcome." An older woman stood up and motioned for them to take a seat across from them. "We've been expecting you."

"Please excuse us if we kept you waiting." Sakura said curtly.

"Oh no, not at all." She smiled and sat back down. "We have little time to talk, because you'll have to leave at the break of dawn."

"We want to thank Konoha for sending a team to guard our people after everything that happened." One of the men said.

"Our Lord Hokage is looking forward to establishing an alliance between our two villages, especially considering the most recent events that have occurred." Shikamaru looked at the three members of the council, who nodded in understanding.

"We understand his reasoning and we actually share his intentions. You must understand that the next Kazekage will have to state his approval of a friendly relationship between our villages." the woman smiled politely again when the three chunin nodded. She leaned down to get something from a drawer and then handed Shikamaru a scroll. "This is for your Kage."

The Nara teen received the item and slightly bowed in respect. He quickly put the scroll away in his travelling pack and looked up again. The man who had not yet spoken leaned forwards and looked Sakura in the eye.

"Word has reached me of how much you helped out at the hospital last night. I'd like to personally thank you for it."

"I am glad that I was able to help." Sakura smiled a bit.

"There's one more thing you should know before you leave." The woman said. "The shinobi that attacked the traveling group yesterday were from sound."

"How could that be?" Sakura's eyes widened. "Orochimaru was killed during the invasion."

"So I heard. We don’t know if they were still acting upon orders, since the interrogation began only a couple of hours ago." She said.

“All right. Thank you so much for everything.” Shikamaru bowed a bit.

Sakura's mind lost track of their voices as the meeting ended and she only mirrored whatever her teammates did. Had Orochimaru sent those shinobi? Was he still alive? Had her shishou’s interference been for nothing? Had her _death_ been for nothing? Would Orochimaru attempt to find her and Sasuke now that they were out of the village? What about Shikamaru? How was she supposed to even fight Orochimaru with not only Sasuke, but the Nara genius watching her as well?

Sakura followed her team mates out of the tower and out of the village without muttering a word. They stepped into the still cold desert when the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon. However, Sakura didn’t have the mind to enjoy the scenery as her hands were balling into fists by her sides. The burden on her heart was once again heavier and she felt a knot form on her throat. The thought of losing Tsunade and having that snake still around sent a wave of fear through her.

She could only hope that it was all a misunderstanding. She could only hope that Orochimaru was dead indeed.

**A/N: So, this chapter had the first bits of romance… which were – err – almost _nonexistent,_ I know. The story will slowly include more of these, but don’t expect anything rush. **

**What do you think about this chapter? Did you like Sasuke’s and Sakura’s interactions? What did you think about her performance in Suna? What about Suna’s shinobi?**

**I love reading your comments and reviews! They honestly make writing much more enjoyable, because I love having input, ideas _and_ constructive criticism alike. So, please let me know what you think!**

**I want to thank my beta-reader MonochromeAce for her prompt revision of the chapter and her useful comments!**

 


	21. Nightmares and Frienships

** CHAPTER 21 **

_“Sakura!” a voice echoed in the complete darkness that surrounded her._

_She squinted her eyes hoping to get a better look around, but it was in vain. The whole place was pitch black. She concentrated on the echo of the voice and noticed that source was to her right. As she walked on the void towards it, she felt a sense of dread build in her chest. Her jaw clenched, her breathing became faster, her shoulders became tense, and there was a suddenly a suffocating feeling of anxiety clouding her judgment._

_“Sakura!” the voice called again and Sakura decided that it belonged to a female._

_Her walking became a nervous jogging as she tried not to trip on the surprisingly uneven void beneath her feet. Her head turned from side to side as she desperately tried to see who was calling for her. Her feet dragged her along the pitch black surroundings for what seemed like an eternity. However, the long amount of time didn’t help ease the drumming heartbeat that deafened her ears to the point where she could barely hear her own labored breathing. Suddenly, everything was eerie quiet and the silence became complete._

_"Sakura!"_

_Her body froze in shock, because she would always be able to recognize that voice. Her legs carried her at top speed towards the voice as she desperately searched for the owner of the voice. Out of nowhere, a kneeling silhouette appeared to her right and she dashed towards it. She was barely recognizable; her blonde hair was now white, her young skin was now covered in wrinkles, the seal was missing on her forehead and her once healthy body was aged and weak. The brown eyed woman looked up at Sakura as she approached and whispered as she tried to stand up._

_"Sakura..." Tsunade stumbled forward and the pinkette caught her before she could fall. She didn’t even seem to register her own fall, because her eyes stayed trained on the ground. Her pupils were contracted as she slightly shook and spoke in a daze "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura..."_

_"I’m here." She said and tried to keep her composure at the sight of her shishou as a dying elderly woman. "I’m here."_

_"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, Sakura..." Tsunade kept chanting without looking up at her._

_"What is it?" She asked, but she wasn’t noticed and soon her felt anxiety grow even further. Sakura shook the woman in her arms for a bit and had to shout to get her attention. "What?!"_

_Tsunade stopped chanting and froze completely. She slowly, slowly, raised her head to look at the girl next to her. Sakura almost cried in horror at the look of fear in her shishou’s eyes. Never had Sakura seen her as terrified as now. Her lips were a tight line that was so strained that her face had contorted in an unnatural way. Her beautiful kind eyes were bloodshot and wide, and Sakura could tell that she was barely able to focus. Her eyebrows were furrowed upwards in fear and anticipation._

_“Sakura. Sakura.” Tsunade said and her scrawny fingers tightened around Sakura’s forearms painfully. “Watch out. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t let him get to you, to the both of you.”_

_“Who’s coming for us? Me and who else?” Sakura’s voice trembled._

_“He’s coming, Sakura. Do something before it’s too late. Be safe. Watch out. Get somewhere-” her ranting suddenly stopped and she froze once again. Her whole body started shaking in desperation and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. “He’s here. It’s too late. It’s too late. It’s too late.”_

_Sakura felt her own body tremble in fear at the chilling murderous aura she felt fill the whole void. She didn’t want to – she was too scared – but she found the will to look towards where her shishou was staring with wide eyes. Behind them, in the pitch black sky, there were two eyes. They must’ve been the size of mountains because Sakura could almost not see the end of them. It wasn’t just that which terrified Sakura. The eyes were a familiar bright yellow and its pupils were slit vertically. And they were looking down towards the void ground. Sakura’s eyes followed them and saw another figure standing a good hundred meters in front of her. She immediately recognized him despite having his back turned to her._

_“Sasuke!” she called and stood up, leaving her trembling mentor in a sitting position. The raven haired teen didn’t seem to hear her, because he didn’t move. She raised her voice until she was yelling as hard as her vocal chords allowed her. “Sasuke!”_

_Her feet moved on her own and she dashed towards him. She should’ve been grateful that the huge yellow eyes had not once looked her way. But she wasn’t. The way they were focused so intently on her oblivious friend was horrifying her even further. He didn’t seem to notice anything as she neared him and she was about to shout once more, but stopped._

_Something seemed_ off _with this Sasuke. He somehow seemed… taller. Suddenly, the huge yellow eyes in the sky jerked towards where Sakura stood and its pupils contracted to focus on her form. Her feet stopped running and a shiver ran down her spine at the nauseating feeling it gave her, something she hadn’t felt since her genin days. Her eyes noticed movement and looked down at Sasuke. He was turning around slowly and his face slowly came into view. Her eyes went wide when she saw that this was not the Sasuke that she’d become friends with. He was not the Sasuke who cared about her, about Konoha or peace. He was not the one she’d first fallen in love with. This man’s face was much older – probably around eighteen – and his crimson eyes contained a six-pointed star. His face was twisted into a cruel smirk and his eyes shone with evil._

_Sakura took a step back and felt her hands tremble next to her. Sasuke mocked her reaction with a snort and then fully turned his body to face her, his movements that of a predator. Sakura shook her head in denial as he towered above her thirteen year old height. Her shaking abruptly stopped as he turned his back to her and started walking away. Her eyes widened and she took a step forward._

_“Sasuke! Hey! Stop!” she yelled after him. Her feet quickly moved and she ran towards him, but somehow her body was not moving forward but only further away from him. Tears were already running down her cheeks when she realized that he was almost out of sight. “Sasuke!! No!! Sasuke!!!”_

**-x-**

Sakura was shaken awake almost harshly by an arm on her shoulder and she jolted to a sitting position. Her eyes were wide in fear, her heartbeat was insane and her labored breathing was rasping painfully on her throat. She looked around frantically, trying to make sense of her surroundings and her eyes soon came upon Sasuke. She widened her eyes at the sight of him and stumbled backwards and away from him. Her hand stretched forward to keep him at a safe distance and she lowered her body defensively.

“Sakura?” he asked with a frown.

“You-” she tried to speak but stopped in order to collect her thoughts first. She took a deep breath in and looked around for a moment.  It was night and she was surrounded by a cold steppe. There was a second figure not much further from them, who was sitting up and watching her intently; Shikamaru, who seemed to have been on watch duty. _Right. Time-travelling. Promotion to Chunin. Mission to Suna._ Sakura finally managed to find it in herself to look at Sasuke again and mentally slapped herself for not noticing his young face earlier. “I had a nightmare.”

“I can tell.” He said and sat down on the floor right on the spot where she’d been sleeping. Sakura slowly crept closer and sat down in front of him.

Shikamaru stood up and walked towards the both of them as he yawned. He stopped to Sakura’s right and looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She nodded.

“Well, it’s almost dawn anyways.” Shikamaru said as his head gestured towards the mountains, behind which the starry black sky was turning into a shade of purple. “I’ll go get something for breakfast.”

Shikamaru walked away slowly and Sakura inwardly thanked him for making up some excuse to allow her some time to talk with Sasuke. She looked at the Uchiha in front of her and noticed that he was observing her intently.

“What was that all about?”

“Just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about.” She shrugged her shoulder in an attempt to make her point across.

“You called out to me.” He said bluntly.

“In my sleep?” she asked as she bit her lip and Sasuke nodded. “I… dreamt about _him_.”

“Orochimaru?”

“Yeah. He was back and had gotten you.” She gulped and looked down at her hands. “I… I’ve been a bit on edge ever since we left Konoha. After hearing that we’d been ambushed by Oto shinobi I just…”

“Sakura. He’s dead.”

“I know.” Sakura whispered. She knew he was _supposed_ to be, but he was goddamn _Orochimaru_. If there was anyone that could find a way to rise from the dead, it was him. She looked up at Sasuke again and they locked eyes for a moment. She felt her heart beat faster once again, but this time it was for a completely different reason. The deep shade of gray of Sasuke’s eyes was captivating and she wondered how many times she’d been able to hold his gaze for longer than a couple of seconds. Deciding not to make things awkward, she spoke again. “I’m just a bit shaken because of what happened back in Konoha. But you’re right; we’ll be fine.” _Hopefully._

“I’ve been meaning to ask.” Sasuke said slowly after a moment, as if he’d been struggling with the subject. “Did you know Tsunade?”

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat at his question; of course he was bound to ask her that question after seeing her outburst towards Naruto. Of course he would notice that her reaction had been out of place for someone she didn’t know. He was too smart to ignore or forget it. Sakura wondered for a moment if Sasuke was ready to know about her time-travelling mission. He did seem more emotionally stable than before, but she wasn’t sure he was mature enough to handle everything that had happened in the other timeline or the truth about the massacre. Should she take the chance and tell him anyways? Would he lose his mind? Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and suddenly felt another presence behind the trees. It was Shikamaru, who was eavesdropping on their conversation. She had the urge to roll her eyes and sigh in exasperation. _Obviously._

“I… kinda did.” Sakura finally said and her index started drawing circles on the sand. “I met her before the exam started. You do know that she was _the_ most renowned medic nin ever?”

“Hn.”

“Tsunade came to the hospital to find out who the rumored genius medic from Konoha was. She asked me to show her some of my abilities at healing with chakra. She was impressed. She said she wanted to train me, to teach me, after the chunin exams. I was so happy! I had always admired her so much! I had always read about her in the medicine books that I bought and often heard her name in the hospital. I was going to be trained by a legend! Not just that… she… was kind.” Sakura said the last words in a whisper, because she feared her voice would break.

Sasuke kept quiet as he looked into her eyes, and she felt almost intimidated by his vigilant eyes. He was cautiously trying to assess her feelings in regards to his question, but was patiently waiting for her to reveal whatever she felt like doing. Sakura hated to lie to Sasuke, but she needed to make her attachment to the woman believable. After another pause, she took a deep breath in and continued.

“We spent some time together that day. She talked to me a bit about the role of the medic nin on the battlefield and inside the village walls. She was incredibly strong, a sharp and wise mind. Even though our profession is dominated by men, she moved around with such confidence and pride. I _truly_ admired her. When she died I… was so disappointed. And sad. I… I guess you have your answer now.”

“Aa…” Sasuke said in a soft voice.

“Sorry for the pouring it all on you.” She whispered.

“I asked.” He looked at the ground and intertwined his fingers. “So, there was something else going on the day that you vented out on Naruto.”

Sakura nodded quietly, and the silence between them stretched for another moment as both chunin looked down at their feet, deep in thought. Sakura wasn’t sure how she would explain her outburst at Naruto – if she ever did – but was certain that for now she couldn’t answer that question. On the other side, Sasuke had only confirmed his notion that Sakura had been under a _lot_ of pressure that day. It only made sense, because he knew that she was usually a composed and responsible person. He was actually quite curious about whatever she was hiding, because that day the look in her eyes had been a bit too much like his own eyes were when he thought about his clan’s death. However, Sasuke knew better than to ask something that could’ve been personal when Shikamaru was around. As if on cue to his thoughts, the Nara teen _conveniently_ stepped in from behind the tree where he’d been hiding and broke the silence.

“I got a rabbit.” He announced.

“Took you long enough.” Sasuke said and made a fire jutsu to light up the remaining firewood that they hadn’t used up last night.

The three of them had a quick breakfast and headed out as soon as they were done picking their stuff up. As they walked, Sakura could only wonder what it was that she’d said in her sleep. She had been _itching_ to ask Sasuke, just to make sure that she hadn’t revealed anything important, but asking would probably make it seem like she wanted to hide something. And that was the last thing she wanted right now. Not only would it seem suspicious, but it could also undermine the confidence that she’d slowly built with Sasuke. She would just have to have a little faith in life and simply let it slide for now.

**-x-**

Talking to Sasuke had lifted some of the burden she’d been feeling crushed by for the past week. Of course, she hadn’t told him _everything,_ but the fact that he had listened to some of her troubles had made her feel warm inside. Damn, he had even _asked_ about her out of his own accord. Sakura guessed that this fact was what had made the next nights better for her. She had been a bit on edge and slightly worried, but she hadn’t suffered from nightmares anymore.

The worries that had been occupying her mind had been mostly about getting ambushed by Oto shinobi on their way home. However, they thankfully encountered no other troubles on their way back and soon were walking amongst the lush green forests that surrounded Konoha. As they neared the village, Sakura started feeling anxious once again, because once they were inside and had informed the Hokage of their arrival, she would have to talk to Naruto. She wanted to clear things up with him as soon as possible, but at the same time was afraid of what his reaction would be. When the village gates came into view, her hands were sweaty and her heart was beating faster than usual.

The three newly promoted chunin walked down the dark streets of Konoha and by the time they had reached the Hokage tower, the sun had just set. They walked up the stairs and soon were knocking on their leader’s office door. A mumbled ‘come in’ echoed from the inside and they stepped in quickly.

“Oh, you’re back.” He said and turned to face them fully. “Did you run into any trouble?”

“We were ambushed by a group of shinobi on our last day of travel towards Suna.” Shikamaru answered. “Thankfully, no one from our side died and we successfully apprehended an enemy. He was a shinobi from Oto, but we had to leave before his interrogation finished so we don’t know much more about it.”

“Oh?” Hiruzen raised his eyebrows. “And what about your mission?”

“It was a success, I believe.” Shikamaru answered and took a step towards the office table to hand him the scroll. “They’re willing to start an alliance between the two villages, but mentioned that the new Kazekage would have to approve as well.”

“Well, of course he would have to.” The Hokage nodded. “If there’s nothing else urgent that I should know of, I’d like the three of you to write a report on the mission and bring it over to me in three days.”

“Hai!” the three chunin bowed slightly and left the room. They walked down the stairs and out of the tower.

“Nice work. Bye.” Shikamaru waved lazily and turned to walk down the street with a wave.

“I have to go too.” Sasuke said from behind her and Sakura felt her stomach tighten. She had been expecting Sasuke to be there when she faced Naruto, but she knew that he was probably tired and needing a shower as much as she was. It was also a matter between her and the blonde, so it would’ve actually been out of place for Sasuke to go. She felt his gaze linger on her for a moment and turned around to look at him. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” She smiled softly and nodded gratefully.

When she was alone she started walking towards Naruto’s place. The journey to his doorstep felt unusually short, since she’d been trying to run different scenarios in her head and time had not been enough. As she looked at his door, she closed her eyes and felt her surroundings; his chakra signature was clear inside the apartment. Sakura felt her hands tremble in front of her and took a deep breath in before knocking on the door.

“Coming!” she heard Naruto’s voice from the inside and then there was a commotion which sounded like he was kicking stuff out of his way as he neared the door. For some reason, the picture of his characteristic messiness only made her feel more miserable. The footsteps stopped on the other side of the door and the door was opened hastily. Naruto’s beaming face fell as soon as he saw Sakura in front of him. He frowned and looked at the ground between them intently. His voice was unusually low and it had a hint of sorrow in it. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Sakura said softly and intertwined her fingers to keep the shaking under control. “Can I… talk to you for a moment?”

“I guess...” He said and entered the apartment without a second glance at her, leaving the door open behind him.

Sakura followed him into his tiny living room as she sidestepped the numerous things that were lying on the floor. Naruto sat down on the floor and Sakura was suddenly clueless about where she should sit. She didn’t want to annoy him or break their friendship – if it still existed – even further. Finally, she decided to sit against the wall a meter away from him.  Sakura turned her head to look at her blonde friend and felt her heart ache when she noticed that he was pointedly looking away from her. Her lower lip trembled and she had to fight the tears that were threatening to escape.

“Naruto. I’m _so sorry._ ” she said intently and waited for a reaction. However, Naruto didn’t move one bit and kept his eyes trained on the wall on the other side of the room. Sakura took a deep breath. “I fucked up. There was so much going on with me and I just… let it all out on you. I know that I shouldn’t have. The memory of how badly I treated you has been haunting me for the past several days.”

“Hm.” Naruto hummed looking at the floor in front of him.

“Naruto, _please_ forgive me.” Sakura said and leaned closer to him, as if the closeness of their bodies would somehow propagate her feelings into him. “You mean so much to me. You’re my best friend, ever. I know that I mean a lot to you too, so _please_ accept my apologies.”

“You do.” Naruto said and then sharply turned his head to look at the pinkette. There was a hurt and slightly angry look on his face. “You _do_ mean a lot to me. And that’s _exactly_ why I would never dream of treating you like that.”

“I… I promise that I’ll never do that again.” Sakura felt tears gather in her eyes. “I was out of my mind; I didn’t even realize what I was saying until you left!”

“I can’t think of anything that would make me treat you like that.” Naruto said seriously. “So, please _enlighten_ me, Sakura. _What_ was on your mind that you had to treat me like that?”

“I…” Sakura gulped and whispered. “I can’t tell you.”

Naruto gaped at her incredulously and then snorted sarcastically. “How do you expect me to understand when you’re not even _explaining._ ”

“I…” She saw the memories of Tsunade rush through her and her funeral. She felt the pressure of not knowing what would happen in the future _she_ had to protect, the future that was much more terrible than anyone could imagine. The pressure that she’d been under all this time came back all at once and not being able to tell anyone about it only made it worse. Sakura pressed her lips together as she looked at the ground under her feet and a tear rolled down her cheek, her will finally breaking down. “I can’t tell you yet. I _wish_ I could, Naruto. But I _can’t._ Not yet at least.”

“Why?” he said, his harsh tone dropping to a slightly more worried one.

Sakura simply looked up at his eyes with a creased forehead, eyes haunted by her issues and glazed by tears. She was biting hard on her lip as she tried to keep her crying at bay. Naruto also noticed purple bags under her eyes and figured that she probably hadn’t gotten enough sleep for a while. She didn’t answer anything else but instead of making the blonde angrier, it only made him worry further.

Naruto’s gaze softened as he looked at her. Her shoulders were shaking and she was trying hard not to cry. But his reaction had nothing to do with her crying. He _knew_ Sakura. He could tell what she was feeling just by looking into her eyes. He knew that she was telling the truth and that she deeply regretted treating him like that. He knew that there was something important on her mind and that she honestly couldn’t tell him. One of his hands rose from the floor and held her forearm softly.

“Are you safe?” he frowned. “ _Don’t_ lie to me.”

“I…” Sakura wondered for a moment how she could answer that question without lying. She was definitely not safe with the chance that Orochimaru might still live. Not safe with the pressure of her secret – she knew that she could be judged as a traitor by the council. She was not safe from Pein or Obito. But she was going to be; she would make sure of it. “I will be.”

Naruto’s frown expanded, concern settling deeper into his blue eyes. He watched her for another moment and then his hand left her arm. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat and she raised her own hand to hold his arm before it finished its course. Both stopped moving for a moment and the room seemed awfully quiet once more.

“Are we…” Sakura asked tentatively. “…all right?”

Naruto arms jerked forward, forcing Sakura to let go of him, and slammed his hands on the floor in front of him as his whole body tensed. His head hung low and his bangs were covering his face, but Sakura could imagine what kind of face he was making. Another couple seconds passed in silence until he finally spoke.

“ _Damn it,_ Sakura.” He growled with his head still hung low. “I was so angry at you. Scratch that. I was so _hurt_ by you.” He said and another pause stretched on for a couple seconds. “Did you know that I only found your letter a couple days ago? You should’ve known that I wouldn’t see it in this mess.”

“Sorry.” Sakura bit her lip as she inwardly cursed her inattentiveness. She furtively leaned forward to try and get a glimpse of his face, but failed.

“Before you came along, only Iruka-sensei had been tolerant with me and was the only person that I ever _talked_ to. You’re the only one that has ever truly valued me for who I am.” Naruto said. “Can you imagine how I felt when you trashed me around like that and then didn’t show up for a _week_?”

“I’m so sorry.” She said once again. She felt like she needed to find different words to apologize, because it was getting repetitive.

“I really wanted to close the door on your face when you came by. But I couldn’t. I can’t just _do_ that.” Naruto sighed.

Sakura’s body moved on her own and her arms circled around Naruto. He didn’t move to hug her back, but he also didn’t move away and that was more than enough for her. Sakura’s hold on Naruto was almost crushing, but he didn’t seem to mind. After a while, Naruto took a deep breath to calm down and spoke with a clear voice.

“Don’t _ever_ do that to me again.”

Sakura knew that putting the fight behind them would take a bit of time, but she would wait as long as she had to. She had never felt so lucky to have a friend like him.

**-x-**

After another day, her worries about Naruto dissipated, but her mind was focused on a complete different matter; Orochimaru. Sakura knew that it was highly impossible – because it would’ve been completely weird for no one to notice – but she feared that he might just be alive. After all, he was the sneakiest person around... maybe only second to Obito. It would explain why Suna had been attacked by Oto shinobi too. However, it could also be only rogue or wandering nin that had belonged to Oto before Orochimaru died. It was definitely the best scenario she could think of, because Orochimaru being alive would certainly make things _more_ difficult for her. She would not only have to worry about Obito and Pein, but also about that damn snake who was keeping an eye on both Sasuke and herself.

Sakura wanted desperately to ask the Hokage about the snake sanin, but she knew it would seem suspicious for her to worry. She was supposed to know nothing about the man and she shouldn’t even _consider_ the possibility of him being alive. So, in the end, she discarded that option and decided to finish her unfinished work.

After thoroughly writing down everything that she experienced during the mission to Suna, she headed towards the Hokage tower. She knocked on the Hokage’s door and entered the office after hearing a muffled ‘come in’. She found Sarutobi surrounded by a huge amount of paper work and with purple bags under his eyes. There were at least five ANBU sitting around in the room, helping him with the unusually large workload.

“Er… sir.” Sakura said as she eyed the piles and piles of sheets wearily. There was at least half a month’s worth of work in there. Memories of her own time helping Tsunade with paperwork came to mind and she cringed. “I’ve finished my report on the mission to Suna.”

“Good.” Hiruzen said and motioned for her to walk closer and hand him her work. He moved some stuff around and finally found a folder. He hastily opened it to put Sakura’s work inside and then turned to look at her once more.

“Do you need any help, sir?” Sakura offered to show him some sympathy, because she knew that he would refuse; the Kage only allowed his most trusted people to give him a hand with paperwork.

“I think we’ll manage over here.” He said but then stopped for a moment and eyed the folder in his hands. “Actually, since you’re the last one to deliver your report could you go store it away in the report archives?”

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat at that, but kept an impeccable poker face. “No problem sir.”

She received the folder and a written permission slip before leaving the office. Her thoughts were running wild. This was a once in a lifetime chance. In her past life, Sakura had only managed to get into the report archives _after_ she became Tsunade’s apprentice. Before, she hadn’t even _heard_ of it. Even though she’d had practically unlimited access to it, she came to know that for most shinobi the chances to get in were few.  In this timeline, she probably wouldn’t get another chance like this one in months or maybe even years if she was unlucky.

Sakura made her decision as she walked down the stairs to the basement of the tower. She would not have another chance to find out what had happened with Orochimaru. Apart from that, she knew every sealing jutsu inside the archives _and_ she knew exactly the order in which reports were stored. She had a good shot at this, but could under no circumstance be found out.  She finally arrived at the end of the hallway where two ANBU guards were standing in front of the iron door.

“I’ve been sent by Hokage-sama to deliver a mission report.” She said curtly and handed over the written permission slip as one of the guards walked up to her.

“Name?”

“Haruno Sakura.” She stated.

“All right, please put your thumb in here.” He said signaling to a hole of a small artifact behind him.

Sakura did as he asked her to and soon felt a small jab on her thumb. She knew that a sample of her blood would be taken to make sure that no one was impersonating her. She pulled her hand back and wiped the remaining blood on her shirt. The ANBU turned to look back at her and gestured to the door, which opened with a _clank_.

“Leave the report in the box according to the nature of the mission and then come out immediately.”

Sakura thanked them and walked inside with a relaxed stride, successfully hiding her inner anxiety. Her right hand healed the puncture on her thumb with one touch; the last thing she needed was to leave blood where she touched. When the door closed behind her, Sakura knew that she had only a few seconds to do what she needed.  She dashed across the room until she was in front of the box that read ‘escorting missions’ and dropped the folder inside. She took a couple more steps as her eyes landed on the box that was labeled ‘village security’. Her hands went through the folders and soon found one that read ‘Otogakure’ and was dated two days ago. That meant that Konoha had also had at least one incident with shinobi from Sound.

Sakura hastily opened the folder and her eyes went through the intel in a matter of seconds. She found out that the Oto shinobi that had been roaming around had been working on their own, mostly in an attempt at revenge against Konoha. The report also stated that it was the same profile as the events in the past couple of weeks. Sakura sighed in relief at the notion that Orochimaru nor any other mastermind was responsible for those attacks. Sakura closed the folder and put it down again in the blink of an eye.

Her feet moved in absolute silence once again and she was on the other side of the room in a second. It was where the files had already been arranged and stored according to date and subject. In one second, she’d opened the drawer with the date of the invasion and was quickly searching for the one she needed. Sakura almost cried when she found the report and took the folder that read ‘Orochimaru’ out. As she had expected, the folder was sealed because of its importance and she quickly made the appropriate hand signs to open it.

Tsunade’s death was still a mystery to Sakura and she was _dying_ to find out if Orochimaru had been the one to kill her. However, she knew that she didn’t have any time to lose and her top priority was to make sure that the snake was dead. Her eyes went to the bottom of the report about the invasion and found that he had died by Sarutobi’s hand, but she didn’t read any further. She quickly turned the pages to the tab that read ‘Medical Report’, which was the only thing she needed.

Sakura smiled in success at the knowledge that there _was_ a medical report, because that meant that he had been dead for at least a whole day. However, when she opened the file her breath got caught in her throat and her mind froze. She stood there for at least a couple seconds, gaping at the folder in her hands and trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

She heard a faint noise on the steel door and, in the blink of an eye, had left the report as she had found it – sealed and closed – and was walking back to the door. When the door opened, the ANBU guard looked at her with a tilted head – Sakura assumed that he had a questioning look under his mask – and she smiled sheepishly.

“It’s my first time in here; I started looking in the opposite side. Sorry.”

“It’s all right. It was only a couple seconds longer than usual.” The ANBU said as she walked out of the room and into the hallway.

As Sakura’s feet carried her to the first floor and out of the tower, she felt her heartbeat finally go wild. Her lungs constricted in her chest and her hands tightened at her sides in dread. Even though Orochimaru was most likely dead – the medical report proved it – there was something else that was entirely out of place.

The page that summarized _all_ of the medical intel about Orochimaru’s corpse had been torn away. Only Konoha shinobi were supposed to have access to that room. Apart from that, a secret jutsu was required to open that specific file. These facts only left two possibilities in this case. The first one was that someone had actually broken inside the report archives without anyone noticing _and_ had managed to find a way to open the file. The second was that someone from _inside_ the village – who also had knowledge of the sealing jutsu – was plotting something.

Sakura didn’t like either of the choices.

**A/N: Ok, I have to confess that I almost wanted to change this into a NaruSaku after this chapter. I don’t know how you felt it, but writing it was so intense to me.**

**Nah. Not really. I love SasuSaku too much – always have. Though I must say that if I’d started watching the show _now_ I probably wouldn’t (I actually just realized that I first watched Naruto like 13 years ago… daaaamn).**

**I love Sakura and Naruto’s friendship – I always thought that Kishi didn’t give it the screentime it needed. So I wanted to put some of it into this fanfiction as well.**

**I know some of you might be thinking… where is the Sasusaku? Well… it’s coming. Slowly. But it’s coming. Like winter in GOT. It might take a good eight or ten chapters for it to get to become really straightforward. But please bear with me.**

**What do you think about the last part? Do you have any ideas on what’s going on? Any clues?**

**I’d love to hear any hunches that you get on this!**


	22. First Step

** CHAPTER 22 **

Tsunade’s death soon became more bearable to Sakura. After almost two months of virtually constant longing and grief, she managed to accept her shishou’s lethal fate. Sakura would’ve probably taken much more time to accept it – especially since she’d been like a second mother to her – if it weren’t for the fact that her shishou had died during the Juubi attack, which had brought about her grief not long after meeting Tsunade in this timeline. After almost a year of going around the burnt down shinobi world and over a year of living in this new timeline, she had honestly never expected to meet Tsunade again. After all, Sakura had planned to do anything in her power to keep Sarutobi alive and that would’ve meant that Tsunade would’ve never come to the village.

However, as her mind was cleared of memories about Tsunade, it was filled with worries. When she’d first found there were pages torn from the medical report about Orochimaru’s death, she had been too shocked to actually consider who might’ve been after that particular information. As time went by, the possibilities became clear to her.

First of all, there was Obito. Obito had the ability to freely create time-space distortions and practically teleport anywhere in the world, so he would have no trouble getting into the report archives. Apart from that, he was the _real_ leader of Akatsuki, which meant that he had a vast amount of resourceful shinobi under his command. He would easily be able to get info on any sealing jutsus used to keep the village secrets safe. Obito also had reasons to steal the medical report; Orochimaru’s secrets would help him get stronger and Konoha would be weaker if they didn’t discover them.

Another possibility was Kabuto. He was sneaky and an incredibly strong shinobi, not to mention a proficient medic nin. He would easily be able to impersonate anyone, get a fake permission form from the Hokage and manipulate his blood to recreate anyone’s DNA. He also had been part of the village at one point, so he could’ve easily known any of the sealing jutsus. Kabuto had the most reasons to go out of his way to get Orochimaru’s medical report; he had already absorbed him in her past life and was as twisted if not more. However, there was something nagging in Sakura’s head. Why hadn’t he attended the chunin exams? Had he decided to stay in Otogakure while Orochimaru came to Konoha? _What_ exactly had caused this change? She had no idea.

Another option was Danzo. Of course, he always wanted the best for the village – in his own twisted way – and would do anything to secure its future. He had even created an army of mindless soldiers – root – and had transplanted numerous sharingan into his arm. _After_ wiping out the entire Uchiha clan. Danzo was probably more knowledgeable about the village’s secret than any other Hokage, since he had been involved in almost all questionable events and immoral actions. It would be easy for him to know the jutsu to open up that folder. Apart from that, he would have no trouble at all when it came to entering the archives, since he was a part of the council. The question was, would he really go that far? Would he try to get ahold of Orochimaru’s twisted secrets in order to get stronger? Sakura was leaning towards a yes.

Maybe another village was trying to get ahold of Konoha’s intel, but it was highly improbable. First of all, they would know better than trying to steal from them _before_ weakening the village to the best of their ability. If they really wanted to hurt Konoha and get away with it, they would have to make sure Konoha wouldn’t be able to strike back. Unless they managed to do it in a way that raised no suspicions towards them. But it was still a stretch and Sakura was familiar enough with shinobi village policies to assume they wouldn’t try anything in this scenario.

Sakura had to say though, that despite her worries, her life had been somewhat peaceful after getting back from Suna. The village was putting most of its resources into reconstruction, which had every genin and chunin working inside the village, while only jonin were being sent out on missions since they would get paid better with the least amount of people leaving. Sakura had at first agreed wholeheartedly to this plan, but carrying timber and stones all morning actually got tedious after two months. One of the upsides to being a shinobi was that work _rarely_ got boring, since missions were always different and she was always training and improving her skills.

On the other hand, spending so much time with her team on reconstruction work had helped her set things right with Naruto. At first he had been slightly distant to her, but she had accepted that he wouldn’t simply forget everything overnight. She had patiently waited for him to open up and Sasuke had not said a word about the distance between them. Not that she expected him to, because he respected the limits of privacy, sometimes even overdoing it by not asking anything at all when he was not close to the person in question. Thankfully he was now close enough to both Sakura and Naruto and, even though he hadn’t asked about the issues _between_ them, he had asked how they were doing in general.

It had also caught Sakura’s attention that Naruto had somehow gotten closer to Hinata, probably while she’d been away in Suna. Twice in a month and a half she had caught a glimpse of them at Ichiraku’s and had actually seen Naruto _blush_ in the Hyuga’s presence. She had almost squealed in glee at the sight of her flustered friend. Sakura had always thought that Hinata would be a great match for Naruto, especially since she had a complementary personality to his. She wondered if her hint about Hinata while they were still in the academy had pushed Naruto to talk to her. She was almost sure that Hinata wouldn’t have simply talked to him out of the blue. Maybe she would’ve done so if she saw Naruto sad or something… which she actually might have, now that she thought about it. No matter what the case was, she was truly happy for him.

Luckily, Naruto had not felt left out because of his teammates’ promotion. In fact, he had actually congratulated them and said that they’d deserved to become chunin because of how much tactical thought they possessed. He had told them that they better look out for him becoming a chunin, because he would kick their ass and leave all the judges dumbfounded.

Despite Naruto still being a genin, they would meet every day for an hour or two for sparring, usually at noon before their own individual training. Sakura would train everyday with Anko, while Sasuke trained with Kakashi and Naruto with Jiraiya. Afterwards she would go to the hospital and work for a couple of hours and then head home. The time of the day she enjoyed the most was the time training with her team. It was not only refreshing to be able to move and work her body, but it was also when they strengthened their team bond. She absolutely agreed with Naruto’s theory that sparring or fighting was a way of communication.

After the friction between her and Naruto had completely disappeared, Team 7 had actually improved their team dynamic even further. Sakura was certain that they had never worked this well together, not even during the fourth shinobi war. They had developed what she had named ‘team intuition’ and they were able to tell what the other members were going to do with only a single look. Their moves had gone from messy to coordinated in just a couple of months.

Most of the time, the sparring would occur with their teachers present; Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Anko would sit back and ‘watch’ them. In reality, they mostly talked to each other and Sakura was _sure_ that it was about lascivious subjects. She could see Jiraiya talking while pointing out things, as if he were giving advice to Anko and Kakashi who intently listened to him. Sakura wanted to be a part of the conversation _so badly_. However, it would be weird for a thirteen year old girl to be interested in sexuality, especially considering that most girls her age could barely talk about kissing. In the end, she had to simply accept that the only sexuality her nineteen year old mind would be fed for a while were the Icha-Icha books that she kept hidden at home.

One day, she noticed that Jiraiya seemed much less talkative than usual. His demeanor seemed introspective, but she could tell by the barely noticeable tension in his forearms that there was something going on. Now, Sakura hadn’t been close to Jiraiya at all, but she remembered every meeting he’d had with Tsunade and he had looked like this only once; when he was about to leave to find Pein. Maybe most people would not pry into a sannin’s business, but Sakura was certain that something big was going on so she could not simply ignore the warning signs.

When that day’s training came to an end, Sakura dusted off her black leggings and her red tank top as she grinned at her teammates. She had once again won against them in sparring; 2-1 in each of her encounters against Naruto and Sasuke. Of course, she didn’t use her full force and sometimes allowed them to win – she wouldn’t want to seem too strong. However, it was important that she slowly showed more strength so that someday it wouldn’t seem weird for her to have high jonin level abilities. Thankfully, both her teammates were gradually getting stronger too, which meant that she had a bigger challenge while sparring with them. Their individual training with Kakashi and Jiraiya was truly paying off.

“Aaahhhhh… this is so embarrassing.” Naruto wailed and passed his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe that Sakura’s continuously beating the both of us.”

“Hn.” Sasuke agreed with a frown, definitely not liking that Sakura had won against him. His eyes then turned to look at the blonde. “I still beat you.”

“Who cares!” Naruto snorted. “It’s not that bad since you’re a guy.”

“So, it’s embarrassing to be beaten by a kunoichi because women are supposed to be weaker?” Sakura asked and forced a smile that was actually kind of creepy.

“Oh, no no.” Naruto waved his hands in front of him and nervously smiled. “That’s not what I meant. I mean that… err…”

Sasuke straightened up and pressed his lips together when he figured that Sakura could assume he thought the same as Naruto. Sakura snickered at the sight of Naruto trying to convince her that his comment was not sexist. His rant stopped when he saw that Sakura was now openly laughing at him. Sasuke’s reaction had been hilarious too.

“Ah-ah! Heh… Give me a sec.” Sakura took a couple seconds to stop laughing altogether. “Daaaamn. You should’ve seen your faces!"

"You mean you're not angry?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"I’m not. Of course men usually have more physical raw strength than women do. Don’t think that I’ll feel insulted by the fact that you pointed that out." Sakura smirked and then her face became more serious. "But don’t forget that being a shinobi is much more than just brute force. Speed, strategy, chakra control, jutsus, bloodline limits, and creativity also play a role. Don’t underestimate women or you might get killed out there."

"She's right." Sasuke said with a plain face.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Kiddo." Jiraiya approached them and put his hand on Naruto’s head as he playfully wiggled his eyebrows. "Women also have other abilities which can be quite deceitful."

"Ahh! Pervy-sage, don’t mention that!" Naruto complained but there was a mischievous look in his eye and he giggled a bit, a light blush on his cheeks. Sakura smirked too; she had purposefully left that one out, knowing that could be a quite useful trait especially in undercover or intel gathering missions. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a bored face that was screaming ‘I would never fall for any of that’.

"Anyways. I have to go now." Jiraiya said and his face became more serious, but he was skillfully covering it up. Sakura raised an eyebrow and wondered if anyone else had caught that. "We won’t be able to go out for ramen today. The Hokage is expecting me."

"Oh, ok. See you tomorrow then." Naruto waved and Jiraiya left.

Sakura mindlessly bid Anko and Kakashi goodbye, fleetingly realizing that she'd seen them together more than usual. Her eyes remained on the road that Jiraiya had taken. What was going on? Was he going to talk about the subject that was worrying him? Sakura couldn’t just ask him about it, but she had a feeling that it was truly important.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I asked, are we still having dinner tonight?"

"Oh." That's right. Sakura's parents had insisted that Team 7 should come over for dinner once again. "Yes. You're both coming, right?" She asked, but the question was focused mostly on Sasuke. The both of them nodded and she smiled. "All right, be at my place at 6 pm."

"Okay!" Naruto cheered and Sasuke just nodded.

"Good. I'll see you later then." Sakura waved and left the training ground at once.

Her feet carried her towards the Hokage tower at the fastest speed she assumed wouldn’t be suspicious. She walked through the packed streets of the city, avoiding the rooftops, and into the tower's hall after concealing her presence. A quick wave and a smile sent at the guard was enough to put him at ease and he waved back at her. She quickly walked up the stairs and got to the Hokage’s door. Sakura took a deep breath in and turned to look around making sure that no one was watching her. When she was certain that she was alone, she pressed her ear on the wooden door.

"The situation has truly become difficult." Hiruzen’s voice sounded through the door. "Things might get out of hand at anytime."

"I understand, but do you honestly think that it’s wise to order me to travel around?" Jiraiya said.

"Yes. I have already thought about it. It would be the best course of action. If you’re around and everything takes a turn for the worst..."

"I know." Jiraiya said and Sakura faintly heard him sigh. "All right then. I'll leave tomorrow."

"I noticed that you have taken a liking to Naruto. I’m sorry that it has to be like this."

Sakura’s breath caught in her throat. Jiraiya was leaving the village and apparently for a really long time. But this time around, he was not taking Naruto with him. What if Naruto never learned the sage mode or didn’t perfect his rasengan? What if he didn’t become as strong as he had in her original life? Would he get caught by the Akatsuki? Would Konoha be completely destroyed by Pein? It was too risky. Naruto _had_ to be trained by Jiraiya. And so, in a split second Sakura made up her mind and opened the door to Sarutobi’s office.

"Please excuse me." Sakura said as she took two steps inside and closed the door behind her. Both men inside the room gaped at her, clearly shocked by the interruption. "I’m so sorry for listening in. I was just outside the door and overheard your conversation."

"And why is it that you have decided to simply walk in?" Sarutobi asked with narrowed eyes and a low voice. He was upset, but it was expected.

"Please allow Naruto to go with Jiraiya-sama, sir." Sakura said as she gestured towards the toad sannin. She knew that every shinobi, especially the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, needed the Hokage’s permission to leave he village.

"And why would I do that?" The Hokage said with a raised eyebrow.

"I know what Naruto is and I’m sure that he will always be in danger because of it. I believe that if he was trained by Jiraiya he would become stronger and would be able to protect himself. Apart from that, he lives all by himself, he doesn’t have anyone at all. I’ve seen how much Jiraiya means to him. He seems happier and more confident. I think that going along with Jiraiya would do him a lot of good." Sakura finished her explanation and took a deep breath in. "That’s all, sir."

"Hmmm." Hiruzen scratched his chin in thought and then turned to look at the toad sage. "What do you think?"

"I wouldn’t mind taking him with me. He's rather entertaining." Jiraiya said with a toothy grin.

"Very well. You can take Naruto with you, if you want to." Sarutobi nodded. "Come back tomorrow before you leave, Jiraiya."

"Hai, hai." The toad sage said and walked out of the room.

When the door closed behind Sakura, she felt her shoulders tense at the fact that she was now alone with the Hokage. She intertwined her hands nervously and stared at the floor in front of her. It wasn’t like her to be so careless and impulsive, but she honestly didn’t know if she would’ve had another chance to bring that up.

"I’m so sorry, sir." Her voice was apologetic.

"You should know better than to eavesdrop on the Hokage, Sakura." He said seriously. "It could be taken as an act of treason."

"It wasn’t... I just..." Sakura gulped.

"I know, child." The Hokage sighed. "I realized that there was someone outside the door as I was talking to Jiraiya. I decided that you didn’t mean any harm when you walked in and talked to us."

Sakura gasped and widened her eyes in surprise. "You knew?"

"Yes, just barely though. I have to say that it’s one of the greatest stealth abilities I’ve encountered in someone your age." He said thoughtfully. “Actually, I think the last thirteen year old with such stealth abilities was Uchiha Itachi. How did you learn such a skill?”

“Oh. I was always good at stealth… and Anko has been training me for a while.” Sakura said, deeply grateful that Anko had trained her, because she wouldn’t have had an excuse otherwise.

“I see. So, what brings you here?”

“I-” Sakura had been so caught up in convincing Jiraiya to take Naruto with him that she hadn’t even thought about a reason for her visit to the Hokage. Her mind went through numerous options in a second as her face remained impassive. “It’s actually just an idea that I had and I thought I would mention it.”

“Tell me.”

“On our journey to Suna I realized that their health system was quite terrible. I had some ideas of how they could improve it but didn’t say anything because it was the first diplomatic mission working towards long-term peace.”

“It’s good that you didn’t, because they might’ve taken it as an insult.” The Hokage nodded. “You think that it would be good for our relationship to offer some help?

“I was thinking about giving them some advice. I didn’t see too much of their hospital while I was there, but I have outlined some major issues that they should improve. I think that if they became aware of them it wouldn’t be too hard to fix, because most of the improvements wouldn’t require a bigger budget.”

“Interesting. It would definitely show good will from our side.” The Hokage said. “I will send word to them and offer Konoha’s advice. Thank you, Sakura.”

“It was my pleasure, sir.” She bowed deeply and left the office at once.

Sakura felt lucky that she’d thought about Suna’s situation and did in fact have some advice to give. If she hadn’t and the Hokage found that she’d been eaves dropping intentionally, she would’ve been in some deep shit. He probably wouldn’t have allowed her to leave before a thorough interrogation and she would’ve probably been exposed.  She honestly needed to be more careful.

**-x-**

The Uchiha’s had always been a rather conservative clan. Women stayed at home as housewives, men would work as part of the police. Women would be quiet and submissive, men would be serious and collected. Every person that awakened the sharingan, regardless of gender, would be a ninja, everyone who didn’t would not be. Things were pretty established and structured. Sasuke had been used to that kind of life and the associated social expectations. He had been raised within that type of society and had grown to see it as a normal thing.

Sakura’s parents were the complete opposite of his own family and clan. Sakura’s mother was quite reserved and serious and, honestly, one could tell that she was the dominant in the relationship. She also seemed responsible and the kind of person who would try to make things realistic and down to earth. On the other hand, Sakura’s father was practically a clown. He kept on making all kinds of jokes – no matter how indecent they seemed – and laughed most of the time. He seemed quite carefree and lively, but there were still distinctive limits to what he joked about. He had a huge sense of humor, but he was clearly no fool.

The first time that Sasuke had been at Sakura’s place for dinner he had been surprised by their liberal relationship and had left that place with a sense of confusion. However, as he now sat at their dinner table for a second time, he could see that they got along fine and actually had a deep connection. He could tell by the way they threw short glances and small smiles at each other.

For some reason, Sakura’s parents didn’t seem strange to him at all. He would’ve expected to feel perturbed, or at the very least dazed by their relationship, but he wasn’t. Of course he was _not_ Naruto, who responded to every joke with a different one and kept on ranting about any subjects. Actually, most of the talking would be done by either Kizashi or Naruto, while Mebuki, Sakura, and Sasuke remained mostly quiet. Sasuke was not as open as his blond teammate, but he was all right with sitting with all of them for dinner.

Sasuke was actually glad that he felt that way, because he _actually_ felt like enjoying company now. Yes, Sasuke had to admit it to himself; he was not the lone and secluded person he once was.

For the longest time – ever since the massacre – he had been alone. He had actually grown used to loneliness and almost _craved_ it. He would be alone whenever he was home and would try to run from fangirls whenever he wasn’t. In his alone time – which was all day long – he had kept on thinking about Itachi. His whole life, his resolve, his ideas, everything was fueled by his hate for Itachi.

However, everything changed after the second phase of the Chunin Exam. The Hokage had asked team Seven to live together for over a month. Sasuke had accepted that request immediately, because he knew that staying safe from Orochimaru was of outmost importance. The first week or two, Sasuke had felt overwhelmed by the constant company. He would spend the day with Kakashi and the evening with Naruto and Sakura. He would manage to find some free time every other day, but it had still not been nearly enough for him. However, as time went by, he became used to their company and even came to enjoy it at times.

After the invasion and Orochimaru’s death, his team mates had obviously left. When they did, he had been incredibly relieved, but he soon found that he felt _lonely_. He’d actually enjoyed their company. He hadn’t felt that good in years mostly because he hadn’t given Itachi that much thought while they were around.

At times though, he felt a little left out. He could see and _feel_ that the bond Sakura and Naruto shared was much deeper than anything he shared with anybody. Sasuke was aware that he had chosen this path; the path of the avenger, the path of the loner. He had chosen to be alone. Surprisingly, he was almost jealous of how close they were, like family, like there was nothing to hide from each other. At times, he wondered what it would feel like to be that close to someone, to have someone he could rely on. At times, he wished he hadn’t pushed everyone away for such a long time.

Sitting with such an honest and carefree family was like a rush of new air for him. He wasn’t like them, but he felt as if they made up for a part of him that was missing. He felt like listening to their conversation even when he didn’t talk much and they even pulled a chuckle out of him every now and then. He knew that his behavior had slowly changed, something that obviously the dobe hadn’t realized. However, Sakura would sometimes throw him a curious or surprised glance and he swore that there was something close to relief in her eyes. Had she noticed the full extent of how much he had changed in the last year?

“So, teme.” Naruto interrupted the Uchiha’s thoughts as he started with his _third_ serving of food. “When Sakura invited us for dinner you didn’t even think about it and said yes.”

“What about it?” Sasuke said and inwardly scowled at the fact that even the _dobe_ had noticed his unusual behavior.

“Are you getting soft?” Naruto grinned playfully and Sasuke grunted.

“I would never be like _you_ , dobe _._ This is all about teamwork.”

Naruto clearly saw through his lie and was now laughing his ass of as he clutched his belly tightly. Kizashi giggled at the exchange too. Mebuki was smiling slightly and had a knowing look on his face, while Sakura was trying hard to suppress her own smile. Sasuke noticed this and frowned as he looked down at his plate with the lightest blush on his cheeks.

“Anyways, we do make a great team, don’t we?” Sakura pointed out, trying to help Sasuke out of that one; he was certainly no good when dealing with this kind of stuff.

“The chunin exam was proof.” Sasuke simply pointed out and nodded in agreement. “We have a good balance.”

Naruto’s laughing and ranting had been going at an almost non-stop rate since they sat down, but he was now awfully quiet. Everyone turned to look at him with curiosity and probably all of them noticed the conflicted look in his eye. Sakura instantly knew what his deal was, but said nothing and waited for him to talk.

“Guys… there’s something you need to know.” He said in a low voice, but held the eyes of his team resolutely. Sakura was for a moment reminded of the older Naruto, the one with great leadership abilities, the one with steel resolution, the one with burning desire for justice. Her old friend; the one that had died in the fourth ninja war in her past life. She had to furtively take a big gulp out of her glass to choke down the tears that were threatening to spill at the thought of him leaving once again. “I’m leaving tomorrow at first light.”

“A mission?” Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No. Jiraiya is leaving Konoha for a long time and he offered to take me along and train me.” Naruto stopped for a moment and tapped his fingers on the table, which gave everyone a glimpse on how nervous he actually was talking about the topic. “I really didn’t want to leave you guys… but I truly want this. I’m sorry.”

“Naruto.” Sakura said with a small smile. “It’s all right to choose the path that your heart tells you to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We can also write to each other regularly.” Sakura pointed out and Naruto nodded at that, his face lit up once again.

“Besides, we don’t want you to drag us down.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, but Sakura swore that there was the smallest glint of affection in the gesture. “You better learn everything you can from him and become strong, or I _will_ kick your ass when you come back.”

“Ha! You can bet on it, dattebayo! No one will kick _my_ ass.” Naruto grinned.

“Darling, you can always come for dinner when you’re around.” Mebuki said and then she looked at Sasuke. “You can come anytime too, even when Naruto isn’t in town.”

“You better come back soon! I don’t want to you making Hinata miss you too much.” Sakura said playfully and Naruto almost chocked on his spit as he widened his eyes. Sakura smiled widely and put one hand over each of her friends’ shoulders and pulled them to her in a double hug. Naruto hugged her back with one arm and grinned. Sasuke didn’t hug her back – as was expected – but he didn’t push her away either and calmly accepted the gesture.

As they finished their dinner, Sakura wondered what would happen now that Naruto was leaving and Sasuke was staying. On a chunin level, teams were kind of established, but they could always be subjected to changes depending on the mission. When the Hokage thought that any team wasn’t exploring the full potential of its member, it would get completely mixed up after the chunin exams and for good. Of course, it was a rare occurrence and mostly frowned upon because of how dangerous it was to put up a genin team that didn’t know each other. She just hoped that Sasuke could stay on her team, because without Tsunade, Naruto _and_ Sasuke she would get truly lonely.

**-x-**

The sun was just rising and the horizon was a bright orange when they met at the gates to bid Naruto and Jiraiya goodbye. As expected, Iruka, Sasuke and Sakura were there to bid them goodbye. Sakura was actually surprised about two other presences. First of all Kakashi. He was one of the laziest persons around and she knew for a fact that not only was he the most unpunctual shinobi in Konoha, but he also hated to wake up early. Secondly, there was Hinata. Sakura had definitely not expected Naruto to invite her over to the gates and, considering her shy nature, was actually surprised that she actually showed up. Nonetheless, it was good to see that Naruto now had more people that cared about him.

“I’m going to miss you all.” Naruto said with a soft look in his eyes.

“Naruto, don’t forget to write. In your letters remember to always tell me where you’ll be staying next week and I’ll send my letter towards that place.” Sakura reminded him and walked closer to give him a tight hug. Naruto hugged her back without hesitation and then turned to the person next to her; Hinata.

“Hinata-chan.” He said and looked at the floor between them in hesitation.

“Naruto-kun… I-I’ll… definitely miss you.” Hinata managed to blurt out despite her huge blush. Naruto looked up at her surprised and then circled his arms around her too, but in a more gently manner compared to Sakura’s.

“Me too. I’ll write to you too, ok?” Naruto said softly into her shoulder and then stepped back.

“You’ve grown so much.” Iruka said and gave him a tight hug too. “Find me if you’re around and I’ll pay for ramen.”

Naruto grinned widely, clearly planning on doing just that and then turned to Sasuke. “Sasuke.”

“Dobe.” Sasuke smirked and put his fist in front of him, which Naruto bumped. Sakura rolled her eyes at the inability of most males when it came to showing that they cared. “You better stay alive and become strong.”

“ _You_ better not fall behind, teme.” Naruto snorted but his eyes were kind, a rare display of arrogance and competition mixed with affection.

“Naruto. Make sure Jiraiya finishes his books. _Don’t_ interfere with his writing.” Kakashi said plainly and waved at Naruto.

“Oh. I won’t _interfere,_ if that’s what you’re worried about.” Naruto chuckled in a pervy way and Hinata gasped, her face a beet red. “Oh! No, no that’s not what I meant, Hinata-chan. I was just talking about how I wouldn’t dare come close to any of his work.”

Hinata exhaled in relief and everyone else rolled their eyes at the blatant lie; they were all aware that Naruto was already growing up to be like Kakashi and Jiraiya. Naruto ignored the gestures and simply picked up his backpack and put it on. He looked at his friends once more and then his eyes softened, probably grateful that he now had a bunch of people that sincerely cared about him. He waved at them and turned to look at Jiraiya, who was standing a couple meters behind him. Naruto nodded with determination and the two of them took off.

Kakashi and Iruka soon departed, leaving Sakura, Sasuke, and Hinata at the gates. Hinata seemed to feel out of place, because she soon left as well. Sakura stared at the pathway in front of her with soft eyes until Jiraiya and Naruto were mere dots in the distance.

It would be hard without Naruto around. She had always counted on him when she thought about who she could turn to if she needed someone to know about her time travel. She knew that he would be back _someday,_ but who knew what could happen while he was away?

“I’ll miss him a lot.” She confessed quietly. She felt Sasuke shift a bit next to her and threw a short glance his way. He was looking at the ground in front of him, as if in deep thought.

“You really do rely on him a lot, don’t you?” Sasuke said quietly and turned to look at Sakura.

“I do.” Sakura said as she looked back at the road he had taken and remembered the Naruto in her previous life. “Naruto was the one who actually taught me what trust was, how it’s always a two-way thing. He decided to trust me and rely on me first and in return I opened up to him. He really is remarkable.”

Sakura felt Sasuke’s silence stretch for a moment as her eyes were still on the road and then it dawned on her. Wouldn’t Sasuke feel that she was leaving him out? Wouldn’t he be angry or upset? Sakura scratched her palms with her fingernails and then slowly turned to look at Sasuke. He was looking at her thoroughly and there was an unusual glint in his eye, but Sakura could not decide what it was. Sasuke bit his lip for a moment as he turned his eyes at the ground and Sakura feared that he would leave, but he looked up at her with resolve.

“Are you busy now?”

“Now? I have training with Anko in an hour or so.” Sakura raised an eyebrow.

“Good.” Sasuke nodded and turned around. “Come.”

Sakura wanted to ask where they were going, but faintly sensed that it was something out of the ordinary and decided to just follow him. Sakura walked a bit behind Sasuke and watched with curiosity as he clenched and unclenched his fists. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were trained on the ground in deep thought. There was something important on his mind and Sakura wondered if he was going to tell her about it.

The streets of Konoha were empty and there were only a couple of supply vendors going around towards the commercial streets. They passed the center of the village and walked a bit towards the outskirts and suddenly Sasuke stopped. Sakura looked at him, but he was facing away from her towards a large door. It was the entrance to the now deserted Uchiha Compound. As Sasuke walked towards the doors and opened them with a key that he kept in his pocket, Sakura felt her heart race.

_What is going on? Why is he bringing me here? Is there something out of place? Is Itachi here? Does he suspect anything about his clan?_

Sakura followed him into the compound and closed the door behind her quietly. She hurried after Sasuke and allowed her eyes to take in the place that had been his home once. Every house and store was run down and abandoned in a way that made it look like a ghost town. Also, everything seemed to have been left in a hurry; there were still tea mugs on cafe tables and toys on some  doorsteps. The buildings were rather crowded when compared to the streets on the outside and it was clear to Sakura that it was because the clan had been treated as a ghetto during the last years of its existence. Sasuke led Sakura into a slightly larger house, which Sakura assumed by the looks of it that it had belonged to the head of the Clan. In other words, it had been his parents’ house. Sakura bit her lip in anticipation and wondered what had happened that Sasuke had brought her here. Sasuke suddenly stopped walking and Sakura stopped right behind him looking at his back.

“Do you know where we are?” Sasuke asked in a low voice and she swore it was trembling a bit.

"The Uchiha Compound." Sakura answered in almost a whisper. "This used to be your house, didn’t it?"

Sasuke nodded with his back still turned at her, so she couldn’t see his expression. They stayed quiet for a couple more minutes and Sakura was itching to ask what was going on, but bit her tongue. Sasuke took a deep breath and turned around to face her. His eyes were so deep with emotion - something Sakura hadn’t seen in this lifetime - that she felt like crying. Everything he felt about his family was exposed in his obsidian orbs; the longing, the love, the rage, the guilt, the confusion. His inner turmoil was more than apparent but he still managed to speak in a rather steady voice.

"You’ve heard about what happened with my clan." He stated and Sakura nodded in confirmation. "I never expected that to happen. I was so young and naive. I didn’t understand anything about the real world. I had a family that I took for granted. I wanted to impress my father and make him like me as much as my brother. I wanted my mother to not embarrass me in front of my friends. I wanted my older brother to teach me new techniques. I never knew..."

A few moments of silence filled the room and Sakura swore she could hear a spider crawling on the ceiling because of how eerie it was. Sasuke looked down and at the floor in between them and scowled in anger.

"I came back to the compound one night. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. I could tell that something was wrong. And then I saw them... corpses and the blood was everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on plants and furniture. I felt so scared... I wanted to leave. But I couldn’t. My family was somewhere inside." Sasuke’s breathing pattern was slightly erratic, his emotional strain clear in his whole behavior. His trembling hand rose slowly and pointed towards a closed room. "I found him there. Behind my parents' bodies. _Itachi_ , my brother. He had killed them. He had killed everyone."

Sasuke’s voice cracked at the end and he slammed a closed fist against the wall, making a crack on it. Sakura almost jumped at the unexpected reaction but made no other move.

"He forced me to see everything with his sharingan." He whispered and his sorrowful eyes met Sakura's. "The way he killed every one of them. The way their faces contorted in fear and disbelief. How the other children - my friends - tried to run in vain. How my mother and father bled to death on the ground. He showed it all to me over and over again."

Sakura felt her heart constrict in her chest and tears form in her eyes. She'd always known about Sasuke's pain, but she had never seen it in his eyes, heard it in his voice. Her own feelings for him were swirling dangerously and threatening to spill over. After keeping all that bottled up within and facing everything alone, it was no wonder Sasuke had lost his mind in her past life.

"It took me years to manage a single night without nightmares." Sasuke's voice was little and he was staring at the ground with squinted eyes. "It was so hard to tell the authorities what I'd seen. I... it is still difficult to talk about it. I have never actually told anyone out of my own accord... until now."

Sasuke looked up once again and this time his eyes seemed slightly clearer. He was no longer being controlled by his emotions and was looking at Sakura in the eye. His eyes flicked with uncertainty and Sakura realized that he was expecting something from her. Some kind of reaction. She put a hand on his shoulder in kindness – not wanting to step into his private space – and locked her eyes with his, hoping that all that she felt would somehow transfer to Sasuke.

"Thank you." Sakura's face was as soft as her voice while she squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "For telling me this. For trusting me."

Sasuke eyes widened slightly in surprise. He definitely didn’t expect Sakura to react like that. What had he expected? Pity? Silence? Anger towards his brother? Somehow, the fact that Sakura hadn’t reacted in any of those ways made warmth creep up Sasuke’s chest. He didn’t want pity, silence or more anger in his life; he’d gotten enough of that as it was. She had showed him understanding with her eyes and had understood how hard it was for him to share his trauma with her. Sasuke looked back at Sakura for another moment and felt the smallest smile tug at the corner of his lips – something he thought he’d never _ever_ manage in this place.

“Thank _you,_ Sakura.” He said and, even though his face was almost blank, Sakura could still see the gratefulness ooze out though his eyes and fill the whole atmosphere.

There were different kinds of people, and there were just as many types of expressiveness. There were people like Naruto, who were thoroughly open with what they thought and felt and expressed it blatantly with their whole person. And there were also people like Sasuke, who were mostly introverted and kept their emotions to themselves, thoughts and ideas hidden as something private and intimate. They only showed their feelings in small gestures, glances and actions. The fact that Sasuke was actually letting his emotions reach out to her was shaking her to her core. But it was the fact that he had shared his most personal memory with her that made her burst. Her arms shot up to bring Sasuke closer in a tight hug as she buried her head into his shoulder.

“I don’t mean to say that I understand what you’ve gone through.” She said quietly. “But I want you to know that you can always count on me if you’re feeling down no matter what.”

“Hn.” Sasuke mumbled and she felt one of his hands gently rest on her shoulder, a clear sign of acceptance for both her suggestion and her hug.

Not wanting to stretch her luck with Sasuke, Sakura slowly pulled back and exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She looked at him and noticed that he seemed somehow clueless about what do to next, since he was casting furtive glances around him.

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

“Hn.” He said and shook his head.

“Wanna get some?” she offered and Sasuke nodded. “ _Please_ not ramen this time though.”

Sasuke smirked slightly and the two headed out of the Uchiha Compound in comfortable silence. As they walked down the streets towards the center of the village, Sakura came to two realizations.

The first one, was that she suddenly knew why Sasuke had suddenly told her about the massacre. She had just told him about how Naruto had opened up to her and they had built a trusting friendship from it. Sasuke had actually _decided_ to tell her not because he had suddenly felt like it, or out of need, but because of a _choice_ that he had made to open up to her. He had chosen to take that first step towards trusting someone.

The second realization was just in line with the first. Now, Sasuke _deserved_ to know the truth about her time travel, it was only fair. Not just that, but he would probably be capable of handling the truth. However, probably was the catchy word, since he was pretty irrational about his clan’s death – something that had been proven in her past life. If she wanted to tell him _everything,_ she would have to make sure to build a real trust between them first.

Sakura knew that she was scared to death of the idea of telling him about it, but _swore_ that she would not back out. She _swore_ that she would find a way to help him accept the truth about the massacre _and_ about his past actions in a rational manner. And when he did, they would both find the evidence needed and put the council behind bars.

 

**A/N: OK! Here was another SasuSaku scene.**

**I don’t think he was too OOC – considering that this Sasuke is turning out to be slightly different than the original one. I’ve tried to portray his development in a way that I think is in line with how he was at the beginning of the series.**

**Also, there’s something fishy going on – remember the scene with Jiraiya? Can you guess what it is?**

**Are you guys sad that Naruto actually left?**

**Anyways, tell me what you think about this chapter in general! I _love_ you input and support!**

**Thank you so much!**


	23. Birthday News

** CHAPTER 23 **

“Forehead.” Ino smiled after opening the door to her house. She moved aside and waited for Sakura to come in, then motioned with her hands for her to hurry. “Come on, I don’t have all day.”

“Ahhh, that’s not polite, Pig. You can’t just treat a guest like that… much less if it’s your guest’s birthday.” Sakura feigned hurt and pressed her hand to her chest as she entered.

“Oh, shush.” Ino laughed and closed the door behind Sakura. She turned around and eyed the pinkette for a moment before smiling kindly and hugging her tightly. “Happy Birthday, Forehead.”

Sakura smiled too and returned the hug. They walked down the corridor and into the living room of her house. Both girls sat down on the floor and around the small table that was on one corner, where there was a streaming teapot that filled the room with the scent of jasmines.

“I haven’t seen you in forever.” Ino said as she filled two mugs with tea. “I think that the last time I saw you was just before Naruto left… was that two months ago?” Sakura thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. “Damn, forehead! We have to make more time to see each other!”

“We do.” Sakura agreed and sighed. “I just have been pretty busy these past months, you know?”

“What, the life of a chunin is too demanding for you?” Ino raised an eyebrow in slight mockery.  

“No. It’s just that he Hokage has assigned Shikamaru, Sasuke and I to attend classes on guard duty. So, the past month and a half I’ve been struggling with hospital shifts, training, guard duty classes and reconstruction.”

“Are you still doing that reconstruction stuff? I thought chunin would be assigned to something bigger.” Ino frowned.

“We are. I’m supposed to finish with guard classes this week and then I will be able to leave for real missions.” Sakura sighed. Staying out of _real_ duty for so long was a drag, since she needed to start looking out for the Akatsuki – more specifically, Obito – and couldn’t do a thing from inside the village. The most annoying thing was that, besides dealing with her own frustration on the matter, she had to put up with Sasuke’s constant attitude. It’s _not_ that Sakura didn’t enjoy his company, but he could really become somewhat irritating when he felt stuck and bored. However, despite how much he complained during their time together – which was a lot if you counted training, instruction and reconstruction – she really looked forward to seeing him every day. In her opinion, he also seemed to quite enjoy her company, but she might be seeing things with a bit too much optimism.

“What’s on your mind, huh?” Ino’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Could it be… a boy?”

“What?!” Sakura’s eyes widened and she blushed at the fact that her friend had caught her red handed. She tried to act oblivious. “Why would you think that?”

“ _Nailed it!_ ” Ino cheered, completely ignoring Sakura’s attempt at feigning ignorance. “Come on! Who is it? A chunin you just met? A _jonin_ you met? A civilian?”

“Er… not really.” Sakura sighed, knowing that it wouldn’t be good to keep it hidden from her friend any longer. “Well… it’s someone that’s been there for a while – I, uh…”

“It’s Sasuke, isn’t it?” Ino deadpanned and Sakura gasped in surprise. “I’ve known forever. You never stopped liking him, did you?” Ino watched as Sakura shook her head and looked down at the tea mug in her hands. “I saw that something changed in the way you looked at him… suddenly you weren’t acting like a girl with a crush, like a fangirl. At first I thought that you’d actually gotten over him… but then I noticed something beneath it all. You looked at him the way my mom looks at my dad. I-”

“Ino…” Sakura frowned. “I really couldn’t help it. Don’t be angry-”

“Hush! Don’t you know that it’s rude to cut someone off? Jeez.” Ino sighed. “Anyways, I watched those small changes for a while and realized something. What I thought I’d felt for Sasuke… it was bullshit, wasn’t it?” Ino snorted. “I just liked him because he was good-looking, cool, talented and an Uchiha. But I never knew _him._ I realized that you probably did – since you’ve been in his team for a while and all – and therefore felt something _real_ for him. I felt stupid. Like a child who had been chasing an idea she truly knew nothing of. So, I’ve decided I’ll forget about Sasuke. So don’t you go panicking on me now, Forehead.”

Sakura exhaled in relief and looked up at Ino. “That’s good to know. I wouldn’t want to endure your jealousy… that must be bothersome.”

“Jeez, now _you’re_ talking like Shikamaru.” Ino grunted and then waved her hands in front of her face, as if waving an imaginary Shikamaru away. “Anyways, is there any progress?”

“With what? Sasuke?” Sakura snorted. “Nothing at all. I mean, we’re friends, but that’s all there is to it. He’s rather… touchy so I wouldn’t want to risk fucking everything up.”

“He is, isn’t he? I remember back at the academy how he would stare at the poor wall all day long.” Ino giggled and Sakura chuckled at the accurate portrait of him.

“Anyways, enough about me. What about you?”

“Oh, just the usual. I’m still working at the flower shop a couple afternoons every week, train and complete low ranked missions with my team. It’s pretty boring.”

“There must be something else.” Sakura said. “I haven’t been the only one with little time to meet, you’ve also seemed quite busy. There’s a reason why we had to meet for _breakfast_ on my birthday.”

“Well… there actually is. It’s kind of a family thing, but I guess it’s fine if I tell you.” Ino tapped her chin. “My Clan is working on developing a more advanced version of the Saiko Denshin,”

“Oh?” Sakura raised her eyebrows. “How can reading a mind even be perfected beyond that jutsu?”

Ino smirked at the unspoken compliment and shrugged. “We don’t know yet. It’s just that the Clan feels like we’re a bit stuck when it comes to jutsu development and are therefore trying to somehow improve what we’ve got.”

“Hm…” Sakura frowned for a moment and closed her eyes. She’d been trying to find a way to arrest the council someday, but she still hadn’t found a way due to how much power they had. An idea had crossed her mind some time ago but it had seemed quite unrealistic. “Is it all right if I suggest something?”

“I can’t see why not.” Ino raised an eyebrow at her friend’s reluctance.

“When I found out that your Clan could enter someone’s subconscious and extract any information needed, even if it had been forgotten or blocked… I was surprised that we didn’t use such abilities in battle.” Sakura said and the blonde frowned in question. “I wondered… why not let more than one person find about the target’s memories? If that could be achieved-”

“Then we would immediately find out the opponents weakness.” Ino widened her eyes in understanding.

“If someone from your Clan could transmit the memories that they extracted into other people, it would be a great asset during battles. I also thought about how such an ability could be used for group interrogation or in a public trial.”

“Wow, forehead. That’s actually a good idea. I will talk with my father about it.” Ino said and smirked. “I will tell him that it was my idea though.”

“You really are a pig, aren’t you?” Sakura rolled her eyes but there was a small smile on her lips.

“Anyways, enough chit-chat. You’re supposed to go training soon, aren’t you?” Ino said and Sakura nodded. “We have little time. Come.”

Sakura followed Ino into the kitchen and watched as she opened up a shelf to pull out a metallic mold. The blonde put in on the table and turned around proudly to face Sakura. Sakura walked closer and saw that the mold was wrapped with a white cloth. Ino took the cloth off with one pull and made a winning pose.

“Ta-dah!”

“Is this…?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Did you…?”

“Yes, _I_ did _._ ” Ino smirked.

Anmitsu had always been Sakura’s number one favorite dessert by far. She had always enjoyed eating it anywhere, anytime. Ever since Sakura could remember, she had asked her mother to let her have Anmitsu instead of cake for her birthday, but her mother had always said that it was a dessert for a different occasion and declined her request. Now, in front of her was the most delicious thing Sakura had ever seen; an Anmitsu _cake_ – somehow Ino had managed to make it. Sakura faintly remembered Ino attending her birthdays when they were still small kids – before the Sasuke rivalry. Sakura felt bubbly happiness in her chest at the thought that Ino had remembered her requests to her family after all these years.

“I can’t believe you remember that.” Sakura said with a wide smile.

“I’m the master of Mind Jutsus. Of _course_ I wouldn’t forget.” Ino giggled. “Come on, let us try it before you have to leave.”

“It looks nice. I just hope that I won’t die of food poisoning.” Sakura said and Ino rolled her eyes as the two sat down in front of the kitchen counter.

“Ha! I bet that when I see you tomorrow you’ll be twice your size.” Ino smirked and Sakura suddenly remembered that the next day there would be-

“The Hokage’s announcement.” Her eyes were wide. “I had completely forgotten about that.”

“The Hokage rarely ever summons the entire village for an announcement, so it must be pretty important. And yet, you somehow didn’t remember.” Ino rolled her eyes. “Apparently your brain has shrunk, because _how_ can you forget about that?”

“It must’ve been the tea.” Sakura feigned hurt. “I can’t believe you actually poisoned it.”

“Just shut up and eat, Forehead.”

**-x-**

Ino’s Anmitsu cake had been something out of this world for Sakura. It had been so good, that she had stayed for a second serving and had left too late to manage to go by her home. Therefore, Sakura had arrived at the usual spot for training with Anko with the cake in her hands. Obviously, Anko had laughed at her for at least a whole minute, saying that it was hilarious to see someone with cake in the training grounds. Sakura was at least grateful that Anmitsu had ingredients that wouldn’t easily spoil if left out. At the end of their training, Anko approached Sakura and pointed to the cake that was on a rock under the shade of a tree.

“Anyways, why do you have a cake? Is it your birthday?”

“Yeah. I turned fourteen today.”

“YOU’RE SUCH A BRAT!” Anko laughed loudly and patted Sakura on the shoulder. “I sometimes forget your real age.”

Sakura rolled her eyes and sat down in front of her gift, slowly unwrapping it and taking in its delicious scent.

“Damn. This is _so_ good.” She said and eyed Anko playfully. “Too bad it wouldn’t look good for an adult jonin like you to share cake with a brat under a tree.”

“ _And_ in the training grounds.” Anko added with a smirk and then shrugged. “I don’t see why that would matter to me. I hardly care about other people’s opinion.”

“If anyone came over and-”

“Oh, shut up and give me some, will ya?” Anko plopped herself down and ate some of Sakura’s cake without waiting for an answer. Sakura laughed a bit as she watched Anko’s eyes go wide at the delicious taste of the dessert. “Ow my gawd. Thish ish saw goowd.”

“You’re just like Naruto.” Sakura smiled softly as she remembered her blonde friend, from whom she hadn’t received a letter in almost two weeks.

“Don’t compare me to that brat!” Anko yelled after swallowing the rest of her food. “Anyways, I won’t be able to attend the group training today. I have a busy afternoon today.”

“Oh? Ok.” Sakura noticed a salacious glint in Anko’s eye, but didn’t ask about it.

“Thanks for the cake, I’ll see you at the announcement tomorrow. Bye!”

Sakura watched as Anko stood up, dusted her clothes and left in a dash. Sakura wondered for a moment if she should go out and get a proper lunch or just eat cake and stay there in the training ground, where she was supposed to meet Sasuke and Kakashi anyways. In the end, she chose the latter, because it couldn’t hurt to have _one_ unhealthy meal, especially on her birthday.

Sakura slowly ate the Anmitsu cake, savoring the sweetness in it and lying down on the grass. She closed her eyes enjoying the winter sun on her face and the soft wind that blew her short hair. Sakura had truly expected to finish the whole cake, but the sweetness had finally been too much for her and she decided to leave some for later. Her fingertips caressed the grass beneath her hands. It was a rough variety of grass that she wasn’t particularly fond of.

Sakura suddenly chuckled at how irrelevant her thoughts were. Cake. Grass. It would appear as if she didn’t have any troubles at all. As if there wasn’t an immortal beast on its way. As if there wasn’t a world war on its way. As if the Akatsuki weren’t on their way. As if the fact that Kisame and Itachi hadn’t come to Konoha wasn’t a constant subconscious threat in the back of her mind.

Sakura had actually been quite worried about that when Naruto left. Would they be caught during their travelling? Would Itachi and Kisame come to Konoha anyways? After a while though, she had soon realized the reason they hadn’t come this time around. Despite Pein – or more specifically Tobi – being the leader of Akatsuki, Itachi still had quite a say on the way things worked inside the organization. Sakura was certain that he had come to Konoha after the invasion because of Sarutobi’s death and how Sasuke would be left unprotected. Now that the Third was still alive, he had no reason to come and send a message. Nonetheless, Sakura was aware that she couldn’t let her guard down.

There was another thing that was now in her mind; the announcement. The Hokage rarely ever called for a public announcement, which usually happened roughly once a year. Sakura wondered if the announcement had anything to do with all the looming threats that she knew of; Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and so on. However, she would only figure that out when the announcement was made. She assumed that it would not make a difference if she put too much thought into it in advance.

Sakura knew that she was taking a _long_ time to make her move against Obito – actually not truly against him, rather towards him – and to stop the Fourth Great Ninja War. However, Sakura had at least made sure that the threat of Orochimaru was now gone and that Sasuke was safe. Besides, she was certain that once she finished her guard classes this week, she would start receiving missions as a chuunin. She would prove her worth on the field as a fighter and as a medic. She would make sure to be sent on high ranked missions and, when that happened, Sakura would get her chance to finish what she’d come to do. She would find Obito and stop the Akatsuki, they would stop Konoha from being destroyed by Pein and prevent the creation of the Ten-tails.

After an hour of relaxing on the ground, Sakura’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt Sasuke’s presence approach. A smiled tugged at one side of her lips. Sakura had expected their friendship to become slightly awkward after the exchange at the Uchiha Compound. Surprisingly, it had actually been the other way around. Sasuke was still as reserved and quiet as always, but there was something that had changed. While he had usually masked his feelings and reacted quite defensively – probably as an unconscious defense mechanism – he now was much calmer. Also, his usually obsidian eyes were no longer guarded and instead showed much more feeling when he was around her. His eyes would slightly soften every now and then, his eyebrows would freely rise to express curiosity or surprise and they would shine with playfulness or good-natured pretension. The changes were not too noticeable, but considering that the person in question was _Sasuke_ it was actually a great improvement.

Given how much he seemed to have changed from the boy that had defected from the village – in her previous life, Sasuke would have left the village six months ago – she had been thinking how she should start telling him the _truth_. She decided that she should do it slowly. Maybe, at first, she would help him find out about the unusual conditions during which his clan had been massacred and make sure that he was processing the information calmly. Maybe he would come to some conclusions on his own. Sakura could try to walk him through everything and be supportive with him. When the time came when she was certain about his composure on the whole thing, she would tell him about her time travel. She’d been thinking about it for a while and had decided that it was the safest approach possible.

“Hey.” Sasuke said as he sat down next to her.

“Hey.” she smiled with still closed eyes as she enjoyed the last seconds of rest. She noticed that a presence was missing and opened one eye, directing it at the raven haired teen next to her. “Where’s Kakashi?”

“He said there was something he had to do and that he wouldn’t be coming today.”

“Really? Anko said the same thing.”

Was Anko with Kakashi right now? What would they have to do at the same time that they couldn’t tell them? Was it a mission? Why had there been a mischievous glint in Anko’s eye?

Oh. _Oh._

Well, Sakura could be wrong… but she had seen the two of them together in town more than once. And they had spent too much time with Jiraiya before he left with Naruto.

“Do you think Anko’s sleeping with Kakashi?” Sakura blurted out before she could register that her words could be uncomfortable for a thirteen year old boy.

“What?” Sasuke sharply turned his head to look at her, his eyes slightly widened.

“Oh. I mean…” Sakura bit her lip for a moment. “I’ve seen them around a lot, together. And today Anko had a sly glint in her eye when she told me that she’d be busy. I actually wondered if she was going on a date or meeting with a man. So… when you said that Kakashi wouldn’t be here either…”

“I understand why you said that. It’s definitely a possibility. Those two are perverts anyways.” Sasuke said as bluntly as he could, but Sakura could see a faint blush on his cheeks. The silence stretched and Sakura watched with slight amusement how Sasuke’s awkwardness seemed to increase with every passing second. It was incredible what the simple mention of sex did to young teenagers. He looked so much like a boy when he had a slight blush on his cheeks and averted eyes. Sakura knew that she might regret this if things went downhill, but she felt the unbearable need to tease him.

“Kakashi hasn’t taught you anything on that matter, has he?” she asked as matter-of-factly as she could.

“What? No!” he almost chocked on his spit and frowned in confusion. “Why would he?”

“Oh, you know. Since we’re shinobi and all. Besides, he’s a huge perv.” Sakura shrugged.

“He definitely hasn’t.” Sasuke said with a resolute voice and then turned his face forwards again to look at the trees. After a couple seconds he spoke again, but his voice was smaller. “What about… has Anko…?”

“What? Taught me?” Sakura waved it off casually. “Oh, not really. She has just talked with me about it a bit, but it hasn’t been exactly teaching.”

Of course Sakura and Anko had talked about sex, but it was mostly sharing ideas and thoughts about it. Despite Sakura having only read about it in Jiraiya’s books, she was not too far behind Anko – who had openly expressed how much experience she actually had. Sasuke eyed her incredulously for a moment and then he cleared his throat.

“A-Anyways. We should train.”

Sakura nodded as she decided drop the subject, stood up quickly and stretched her cold muscles. Her rational mind was screaming at her for teasing Sasuke with such a subject, because it could’ve backfired on her. Her other mind – her now mostly quiet Inner – was screaming at her for stopping, saying that they had to take every chance she got when it came to Sasuke.

“What should we do today?” Sakura said, pushing her inner’s thoughts to the back of her mind.

“What about a speed-only spar?” Sasuke proposed. “I haven’t tried my sharingan to its fullest against your speed yet, which I figure has improved since you’re training with Anko.”

“Interesting. When you say only speed, I imagine that you’re not talking about hand-signs.”

“Aa.” Sasuke nodded. “Just speed-based taijutsu.”

Sakura locked eyes with him, smirked and nodded. It would actually be good for her to try that approach, since she still relied too much on her chakra enhanced strength – even though she only used a small fraction of her ability. She crouched a bit and lowered her stance.

“So, no hiding, no traps, no weapons, no genjutsu, no ninjutsu, no chakra-enhancing and so on. I would leave bloodline limits out too, but you’ll probably loose otherwise.”

“I could leave it out and still beat your ass, but I need to train my eyes.” Sasuke frowned. Sakura raised an eyebrow smugly, clearly showing that she believed it to be a bluff. If there was anyone that was the best option for Sasuke to train his doujutsu, that would be Kakashi and not Sakura. Then again, Kakashi was not the most hardworking teacher around and might just refuse Sasuke’s requests of a real spar. “Tch. I’ll show you that I’m just as good without it.”

Sakura smirked and bent her knees a bit and raised her guard, while Sasuke mirrored her actions. In the blink of an eye, the two of them were caught up in a blur of colors. Sakura didn’t use chakra to enhance her speed since they’d decided to not use chakra at all and she’d believed that her unenhanced speed would be enough. After a couple minutes, Sakura was surprised to notice that Sasuke was actually on par with her when it came to natural speed. She knew that he was a genius, the best of their graduation year, but she was only now starting to realize how good he actually was. He hadn’t even been training his speed with Kakashi – she knew for a fact that he had mostly been training his doujutsu and ninjutsu with him - and yet was as good as Sakura, who had been working on her speed with Anko – amongst other things.

Every kick Sasuke sent, Sakura managed to dodge. Every punch Sakura aimed, Sasuke would block. After over fifteen minutes of not managing to catch the other off guard, Sasuke jumped a good ten meters back.

"Not bad." Sasuke smirked with raised eyebrows. He clearly hadn’t expected Sakura to be as fast as he was. He knew that she was smart, knew some useful ninjutsu and could enhance her speed and strength with chakra. But he hadn’t known that her _natural_ speed was this good. "Too bad that you'll lose now."

Sasuke’s sharingan came to life as he jumped at Sakura once again and they engaged in taijutsu once again. This time however, she noticed that Sasuke was gaining the upper hand. While he didn’t seem to be having any trouble dodging her attacks, she barely had time to move out of the way. His fist had lightly brushed her more than once.

Suddenly, Sasuke aimed a low kick towards her thigh while standing too close to her. Sakura widened her eyes and moved to block it, but she was not fast enough. His kick connected and she was sent backwards, but managed to land on her feet. Sasuke had not wasted a second and had launched into another attack.

"Aaaghh!" He screamed as he aimed to punch her jaw.

Sakura raised her arms in a cross, but her footing hadn’t been firm enough on the ground from the previous assault. So, when her arms blocked his punch, she was sent back a couple meters and landed on the ground. Sakura inwardly cursed and twisted her body to get up once again, but when she was in the middle of her motion she was pushed back down from her side.

Sakura was sneaky and Sasuke didn’t usually win their encounters, so he wasn’t going to take any chances. He used his whole body weight to push her down on the ground, holding her in a lock using both arms and legs. Since this was a taijutsu only spar, he couldn’t prove his win with a kunai to her throat.

Sakura had known that she would lose the moment that Sasuke’s kick had landed. There was no way that he was going to let her get away with it when he was using his sharingan to read her moves and she was not allowed to use chakra. She knew that she was expected to yield, especially now that she was immobilized.

However the feeling of Sasuke’s legs intertwined with her own, his hands tightly securing her own. His hips and lower stomach pressed to her side and his eyes looking down at her from no further than two palms away… Sakura couldn’t help be feel enchanted as she looked back at him. Sakura could faintly smell the air he was breathing and it made her feel slightly dizzy.

Sasuke’s eyes were now back to obsidian as he looked down at Sakura. He must’ve noticed that her behavior was strange, because his expression was slightly puzzled. His eyes observed her for another moment and then widened in a barely noticeable way. And then they were back to normal. But he didn’t move away. Sakura looked up at him and she felt her breath catch in her throat at how intently he was staring down at her. She fought the giddiness building inside of her and forced herself to keep a straight face. She somehow managed to pull off a poker face, as if there wasn’t a boy – _Sasuke_ – holding her down with his whole body.

After what seemed like years, but were probably around 10 seconds, Sasuke smirked in smug way. He released his hold on her and stood up, allowing her to sit up too. Sakura wordlessly got to her feet and dusted her clothes. She looked up at him and swallowed thickly.

“I need to get to the hospital.” Sakura announced. It was an unspoken rule amongst shinobi that after sparring with taijutsu only, they would usually stop their training due to how physically tiring it was.

“Aa.” Sasuke said. “I have to go too.”

Sakura was actually feeling pretty nervous and clueless about the weird moment with Sasuke and had expected to have some time to herself. Why had his eyes seemed that intense as he stared back at her? Had he been _counting_ to ten to mark his win? Had it been something else? Maybe he had noticed that he was actually looming over an actual girl, but then again it was Sasuke so maybe it would take a long time before he ever questioned such a thing. Did it have anything to do with the conversation about Anko and Kakashi?

Sakura was about to start walking when she remembered her cake. She yelped and turned around to run towards the tree where she’d left it. When she came back, the item wrapped in white was being held in front of her. As they walked, Sasuke looked at it curiously and Sakura caught the hidden question.

“It’s Anmitsu. Ino made it for me as a special arrangement. Do you want some?”

“I don’t like sweets.” Sasuke simply said and there was an almost cordial tone in his voice. Sakura wondered if it was his way of thanking for the offer.

“I’ve heard you say that before.” She frowned. “I can’t believe you don’t. Sweet is one of the best flavors ever. Some might not stand to eat too much of it, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone who plainly doesn’t like it. Well, apart from you.”

“Fruit sweetness is fine.” He stated. “But sugar is _too_ sweet. Besides, it’s bad for your health.”

“I know.” Sakura said. She was well aware of how sugar screwed her bones, liver, kidneys and many other internal organs and functions. However… “But it’s so good! I love how it tastes so much that I don’t really care about that. Besides, I don’t eat sweets all day long.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “It’s just like alcohol and tobacco…”

Sakura said nothing but inwardly smiled in a sheepish way. She had definitely drank alcohol in her past life, and she’d tried tobacco too. Of course, she couldn’t tell Sasuke any of this; she was supposed to be thirteen – _fourteen_ now – after all. Sakura faintly noticed that, as they talked, the awkwardness that at least she’d felt on the training ground was gone.

Sasuke and Sakura walked together back from training every other day. Sakura would always go to the hospital after training and Sasuke would sometimes need to go grocery shopping – it seemed that he was actually _cooking_ stuff now. When that happened, they would walk together until the front of the hospital, which was on their way to the center of town, and then Sasuke would keep going alone. When they were in front of the hospital, Sasuke waved Sakura goodbye and turned around to leave.

"Sakura-san!" A voice made Sakura turn around towards the left and she felt Sasuke stop walking away too - probably out of curiosity.

Sitting on a bench just in front of the hospital's entrance was Lee, who was now standing up with some difficulty. He had been released from the hospital two weeks ago and must’ve probably been allowed to walk around only a few days ago.

"Hi. How are you doing, Lee?" Sakura smiled a bit and took one step closer to him.

"I'm fine. And all thanks to you." Lee said as he straightened up and then stiffly bowed down low. "You saved my life back there!"

"It's all right." Sakura nodded.

"I came here to give you a gift!" He said, standing straight once again. He pushed his hands forward and locked his determined eyes with Sakura. "Happy birthday!"

Sakura felt Sasuke stiffen behind her and she nervously accepted the gift. It was a small letter and a coupon to eat dango - thankfully just for one person, so she wouldn’t be expected to eat out with Lee.

"It's a token of my feelings for you!"

"Ah. Thank you, Lee." Sakura tried to sound grateful and not as crept out as she felt. She felt like she somehow now understood a bit how awkward it had to be for Sasuke with all those fangirls.

"Sakura-san. I know that you said that you weren’t interested in having boyfriend yet, but if you ever wish to date anyone, please think of me!"

"Err... I'll try to remember that."

"I know that you work hard, so I'll leave you now!" Lee waved and started walking away. "Enjoy the youthful food and letter!"

Sakura sweatdropped and one of her eyes twitched as she waved him goodbye. However, when she turned around, her eyes landed on Sasuke who was staring at her firmly. Sakura looked at him and waited for a couple seconds, but Sasuke said nothing. She cleared her throat and tilted her head in question.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's your birthday." He stated bluntly.

"Yes?" Sakura nodded, not getting why he was upset.

"You didn’t tell me." He pointed out with exasperation. Sakura had been pretty sure that he had already known about the date already. Had he forgotten until now? It was unlikely; he had the best brains of their generation after Shikamaru and herself. Had he been faking ignorance?

"Oh... I didn’t think you cared about that kind of stuff."

"I don’t particularly, but I still would’ve wanted to congratulate you." He grunted and averted his eyes.  Sakura swore for a moment that there was an almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of his lips.

"Sorry." Sakura mumbled and looked at the floor in front of her.

"Are you free for dinner after your shift?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"I am." Sakura felt her heartbeat race. Could it be? Would Sasuke ask her out on a date or something? Was the look back at the training ground more than-

"We should go to Ichiraku's with Kakashi."

Oh. Right. They'd been doing that for every birthday since the team was formed. Even though Naruto wasn’t around, it made sense that they would keep the tradition. Of course Sasuke wouldn’t ask her on a date. Why had she even thought about that? She suddenly felt stupid for thinking that way.

"Ok. Let's meet there at 7 pm." Sakura managed to speak normally and keep a straight face.

"I'll inform Kakashi." He said and then left with a small wave.

Sakura sighed in disdain and walked into the hospital slowly. When she passed the entrance hall, she came across a black haired woman.

"Shizune-san!" Sakura greeted with a smile, immediately forgetting her disappointment. Shizune has started working at the Konoha hospital a month ago.

Hiruzen had offered her to be the head of the surgery department due to her experience and the hospital’s head medic has immediately agreed. Sakura had been so happy to see her there. She'd wanted to talk to her and get to know her once again, but sadly Sakura was part of a completely different department - the one that treated traumatic accidents - so she barely got to see her. They'd worked together twice on surgeries that had involved both parties. Shizune had been impressed by Sakura's abilities and they had talked a bit and now greeted when they met at the hall.

"Sakura-chan." Shizune smiled warmly. "How are you doing?"

"My shift's about to start, I just got here. What about you?"

"Oh, lucky you." Shizune sighed. "I've been around for 11 hours straight and I’ve still got a couple more hours to go."

"You've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, huh?"

"You have no idea." Shizune sighed, not knowing how much Sakura could actually relate to her. "Anyways, gotta get back to work."

"Keep it up, sempai!"

When Shizune was out of sight, Sakura walked towards the hospital wing where she worked. She was really glad that Shizune was there now. They were not close at all, but at least the older woman knew Sakura's name and abilities. If Sakura managed to get under her skin, it wouldn’t only make her happy, but she might also convince her to start teaching her. And then she would have some sort of excuse for her abilities, since Shizune had trained under Tsunade. However, Sakura didn’t want to seem desperate or be suspicious - they'd only met a week ago - and had decided to ask her sometime later.

**-x-**

Four hours later, Sakura’s shift had ended and she’d gone home to leave the cake in the kitchen. She had to stay for a while and drink tea with her parents, because as her father had stated ‘they also wanted a piece of her and it wasn’t fair to only spend her special day with her team’. After convincing them that she would be too late if she stayed any longer, Sakura had managed to leave and was now walking down the street towards Ichiraku’s. She was low on chakra and tired from a long day of work, but at least she would get to eat out with her team. Sakura soon saw the ramen stand not far from her and smiled at the prospect of a warm meal. Suddenly, she jolted upwards in surprise at something she heard. She shook her head and walked closer as she tried to listen harder. _It couldn’t be…_

“Be quiet, idiot.” A barely audible voice sounded from inside the ramen stand. “If you yell like that you will alert the whole village.”

“Ahh, but I’m too eager, dattebayo!” the voice spoke again but now in a lower tone, one that Sakura knew too well despite not having heard it in such a long time.

Sakura’s eyes widened and she felt a smile form on her lips and then jogged towards the ramen stand. When she was right in front of it, she sharply turned to the side making dust flow around her feet and then pushed the curtain sideways. Inside, on a corner of the ramen stand, were Kakashi, Sasuke and two people she hadn’t seen in over two months; Naruto and Jiraiya.

“Naruto!” Sakura beamed widely and jumped at Naruto just as he turned around to face her. His arms circled around her back and he held her tight against him.

“Sakura-chan! Happy birthday!” Naruto patted her pack and then moved back.

“Hey, Sakura.” Jiraiya put his hand on her head in a kind gesture and Sakura suddenly felt five again. “Congratulations.”

“Yo! You’re growing so fast, Sakura-chan.” Kakashi said next to Jiraiya and his lone eye smiled at her, but Sakura heard the slight humorous tone in his voice when he treated her like a small child.

Sakura smiled nonetheless and then she turned to look at Sasuke, who was looking at her. There was an amused glint in his eyes and a small smirk on his lips. Sakura gasped in realization.

“You knew it was my birthday!”

“You ask if he _knew_? He organized this whole get-together a week in advance!” Naruto snorted and moved to elbow Sasuke on the side. “He’s not the ice-cube that we first met, huh?”

“Shut up, dobe. You wanted to come just as much.” Sasuke pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but _you_ were the one who first suggested it in a letter. And-”

“What _ever_. Let’s just eat for now!” Sakura took a hold of both their wrists and pulled them towards the bar, a toothy grin on her face.

Sakura sat down in the middle, with Naruto and then Sasuke to her right. To her left were Kakashi and Jiraiya. Everyone ordered their food and stared eating with a big smile. Sakura felt incredibly happy. Not only was Naruto there for her birthday, which was incredible on its own, but _Sasuke_ had actually organized a birthday for her. It wasn’t much, but he had thought about it a whole week in advance and told Naruto to be in the village for dinner. He had even faked ignorance about her birthday so that she wouldn’t suspect anything. The fact the he had actually planned something for her, to make her happy, was more than she could’ve wished for on her birthday.  

Sakura suddenly noticed that, while Sasuke and Naruto were ranting about whatever, the two older shinobi on her other side were awfully quiet. Sakura threw a curios glance at them and noticed the serious atmosphere surrounding them. She tilted her head and glanced at Jiraiya, deciding to ask anything in order to get a better grasp of what was going on.

“How long will you be staying?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow.” Jiraiya announced.

“Really? So soon?” Sakura frowned. “Are you at least going to be here for the Hokage’s speech?”

“Ah. Naruto wants to attend.” Jiraiya nodded, but there was a troubled look on his eye at the mention of it. As if he didn’t want to be there but had agreed to only because of the blonde Jinchuriki’s insistence. “But we’re leaving as soon as it ends.”

There was an air of authority around Jiraiya that screamed _don’t ask anymore_ , so Sakura didn’t. Her eyes focused on Kakashi, who was right next to her. He seemed to know why Jiraiya was unsettled, because he had a knowing look on his eye as he stared at his ramen. Sakura cursed her fourteen year old body and chunin status, because it was obviously keeping her away from the important subjects that high-ranked jonin and above knew about.

“So, Sakura-chan.” Kakashi said and scratched his chin. “Fourteen, huh?”

“What about it?”

“That was just about the time when I bought my first Icha-Icha.” Kakashi said and pulled a wrapped object out of nowhere. “Here you go.”

Sakura took the gift – which was obviously a book – and looked at Kakashi with clear amusement. She ripped the deep red covering off and smirked at the book she had in her hands; Icha-Icha Paradise.

“Sakura-chan, what is-” Naruto stopped abruptly and stared with wide eyes at the book in Sakura’s hands. He snorted and then pointed at their sensei. “Ha! You think she doesn’t know that stuff already? You’re too late, Kakashi-sensei!”

“Naruto!” Sakura slapped him on the back of his head and felt a deep blush on her cheeks, since everyone at the ramen stand was now looking at her. “ _Why_ on earth would I know about such things?”

“Why would Kakashi give you something like that?” Sasuke asked after leaning forwards to get a good look at it.

“Ah, now she’s old enough to start the journey of an adult’s pleasures.” The jonin nodded at Sakura and then turned to look at Sasuke. “Don’t worry, you’re getting a copy in a couple months too.”

“ _Ugh._ ” Sasuke groaned and looked the other way, probably not wanting to be seen associated with Kakashi anymore.

“ _Wait_!” Naruto called in dismay. “What about me?!”

Needless to say, the whole team went back to its usual dynamics that evening. More specifically, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto did. Kakashi seemed tense, not as much as Jiraiya did, but tense enough to Sakura who had known him for a long time. Neither of them seemed their usual self, since they ate quietly and barely spoke to each other.

Sakura was certain that they were both worried about the speech that the Hokage was to give the next day. She managed to keep her thoughts at bay until they all left the ramen stand, so that she could enjoy the company of both her team mates while she could. As she walked home, her mind started going through the last couple months, trying to find an explanation. Would the Hokage give them terrible news? Would an attack happen while he was at it? Maybe it had something to do with the person who had stolen Orochimaru’s medical report? The Akatsuki maybe?

When Sakura finally laid down in her bed, her gut was clenched with a terrible notion. The nagging feeling had gotten stronger and stronger and she now felt as if she would start shaking from anticipation anytime. Sakura had grown to trust her instincts as years passed by, and they were _screaming_ at her that something important that she didn’t expect was going to happen tomorrow. That everything she’d been planning and trusting on would go downhill. That nothing would be as easy from now on.

She could only hope that, this time around, her instincts would be mistaken.

**-x-**

The place where the announcement would be held brought distressing memories back to Sakura. It was the same place where her shishou’s funeral had been held at and _the_ place that she’d been avoiding like the plague ever since. She had somehow managed to get over her mentor’s death quite well, especially considering that there was no one she could talk to. Her heart had finally accepted that her shishou’s death had happened to allow changes – good changes – to happen in Konoha. Tsunade’s death would not only be in Sakura’s heart from now on, but also in the future that the Leaf Village built for its people.

Sakura had arrived just a bit before the ceremony was to begin and looked around to take in her surroundings. The whole place was filled with people, both civilians and shinobi. Sakura would bet that every living soul in the village was there, aside from shinobi on guard duty and some ANBU. Sakura walked around for a bit and soon saw the rest of the shinobi of her generation.

However, Sakura was feeling on edge, so she decided to avoid anyone until she figured out what was going to happen. She didn’t want anyone she knew to be suspicious if she reacted in an unusual way. She had also convinced her parents that she had to watch the announcement with her team, so that she could be alone. Sakura walked around for another bit until she finally found a good spot that was secluded enough, but also allowed her a good look at what was going on in the crowd.

Sakura stayed there for the remaining ten minutes, trying to be unnoticed by some people that knew her and passed by close to her. Thankfully, no one noticed and she was alone by the time the Hokage walked to the ceremonial platform. There was a grave way in the way that he walked and moved, which only managed to increase Sakura’s worries. Hiruzen started speaking slowly, patiently.

“Villagers of Konoha. I want to start by thanking everyone for attending today, since it shall be an important day in the history of our village.

As many of you know, I have served as Hokage for many decades. I have seen this country be built back from the ashes and the destruction that came from the attack of the Kyuubi. I have seen the internal disputes within clans when it came to political and economic power. I have seen Konoha’s struggles to maintain good relations with the other nations and shinobi villages. I have seen balance and prosperity bloom in our beloved village and how our citizens’ lives have continuously improved over time.

I strongly believe that it is not the leader’s work that makes a country. It’s not the leader’s ideas or the leader’s strength that makes a country. I am confident that the essence of a country comes from its people. No matter what kind of leader there is, it’s the essence of the people which creates a nation. The leader is not meant to impose above everyone else, but rather meant to embody the nation’s will. This country’s will – the Will of Fire – is the one thing that has built this nation. It's the spirit that guides our development.

During my time as Hokage, I have given all I have to make this village a better place for those who live in it. I have tried to be a just leader and to protect this country to the best of my ability. I have tried to be what you've expected me to be. I like to believe that I have lived up to your expectations and embodied the Will of Fire. I have served this village for over three decades.”

Sakura felt her eyebrows rise a bit at his words. _He wouldn’t possibly be talking about…_

“Despite all of that, I have come to realize that I am not who I used to be. During the Sound Invasion, Orochimaru would’ve defeated me if it weren’t for Tsunade’s interference. I could have failed to protect this country and to guide it through the crisis. The fact that my own student could’ve taken me down has been in my mind for months. I have been continuously assessing my own ability as a shinobi and have come to the conclusion that, even though I believe I am capable of leading, I am not capable of protecting anymore.”

By now Sakura’s eyes were wide. She was now certain why this was such an important event; Hiruzen was about to step out of office.

“Owing to this, I have decided that I am not fit to be Hokage anymore, because the title requires someone that’s able to lead and protect. Therefore, I officially announce my resignation as Hokage.”

A faint chattering started sounding all around the place – people were obviously taken by surprise and were chatting amongst themselves. Sakura felt no different; she had never expected Sarutobi to resign. He was not the same as fifteen or twenty years ago, but he was _still_ one of the strongest shinobi in the village. And he was most certainly the best option when it came to leading. Sakura couldn’t help but feel that something didn’t add up. Her frown was now pronounced on her face and she was biting her lip nervously.

Hiruzen slowly raised his hand in an attempt to get everyone’s attention, and the crowd went quiet. “The future of Konoha still interests me deeply so I will now become a part of the council of the village. I will serve as an experienced former leader and advise the next Hokage with responsibility and commitment.

I have given the subject of my successor a lot of thought. I decided that the three main attributes to choose the next leader would be as follows. First, deep commitment to the Village and its people. Second, vast experience when it comes to leading organizations _and_ shinobi teams. Third, strength that surpasses that of most shinobi in the village.”

Sakura frowned; it was a truly small detail that only some might’ve noticed, but Sakura couldn’t help but think that Hiruzen wouldn’t have made such a mistake. The attributes that he’d listed were not in line with what he’d said before. If he were to be picking a leader that responded to his whole speech, the most important trait would’ve been the ability to embody the Will of Fire – the people’s will. Why would he not mention that amongst the traits, when he had just implied that it was the most important thing for the Hokage to possess?

“The person who immediately came to my mind is not only someone who fulfills the three traits I mentioned. He also has been someone that I’ve known for a long time and who has been involved in the village’s politics for decades. He has vast battle experience; he even fought in the First Shinobi War. He also founded an important branch of ANBU that was vital to the village’s security at the time.”

Sakura’s body stiffened completely and she tried to control the shaking that was threatening to take control of her. She fought the urge to cover her face in shock and tried to keep her expression as straight as she could. If _he_ were to become Hokage then everything would change. If he were to become Hokage, Sasuke would be in danger. Damn, _she_ would be in danger for knowing so many dirty secrets about him. _No way, no, no, no. This has to be some sort of nightmare, some sort of lie._

“Apart from that, he’s been a part of the village’s council for a long time, which gives him the necessary experience to lead. If some of you are informed enough, you might already know or suspect who I’m talking about. I’m honored to present to you the Fifth Hokage; Danzo Shimura.”

Sakura felt as if a bucket of boiling water had been thrown at her. Sakura’s shoulders were stiff and she was clenching her hands together to keep them from shaking. She could barely feel her surroundings or the innocent citizens who were applauding and cheering on their new leader.  
Her eyes were trained on the half bandaged figure that was walking towards Sarutobi. Danzo was serious and polite... but Sakura could see the way his eyes shone with well hidden pretension. She knew how much he'd tried to take the Hokage's seat, how much he craved for power.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Danzo said as Hiruzen moved and he took his place in front of the microphone. “When I start my duties as Hokage tomorrow, it will be the beginning of my path as your leader and authority. It’s good to see that many of you are cheering for me as I start this journey. I’ll let you know that, shortly, that support _will_ have spread amongst everyone here present. I’ll show you all how this village will change and prosper under my lead.

I want to thank the Hokage for trusting me as his successor and for doing what’s best for the village. I promise to you all, that I will be the Hokage that this village _needs_. I will lead and protect it with my life and I will make sure that Konoha becomes the greatest shinobi village amongst all nations.”

Sakura watched as Danzo turned around and walked down the platform with a huge knot in her lower belly. She didn’t need much imagination to understand the hidden meaning in Danzo’s words; the village will _change_ and prosper under his lead, the support for him _will_ have spread amongst everyone soon, he will be what this village _needs_. Sakura’s thoughts might’ve sounded delirious to someone else. She might’ve sound paranoid. But she wasn’t.

Sakura knew damn well what kind of leader Danzo would be. She knew that he was borderline unethical when it came to control and authoritarianism. He didn’t care about stripping people of their free will, of their right to choose, of their freedom of speech. He _did_ care about the village, but in a twisted way in which the only thing that mattered was how powerful it became. People’s happiness was not something that truly concerned him, and Sakura would even bet that he believed happiness to be counterproductive to power. In short, he was a fascist and a tyrant.

All the choices that she’d made came crushing down on her with the weight of a thousand mountains. How she hadn’t decided to tell Hiruzen about her time travel before and asked for help against the Akatsuki. How she hadn’t told Hiruzen about what she’d seen of Danzo in her past life. How she hadn’t made a move on her own towards finishing her mission before – she’d been there for almost two years! How she hadn’t made a move of her own against _Danzo_ before he was appointed at the Fifth Hokage.

If there was one thing that Sakura was glad she had done, it was _not_ telling Sasuke her secret. If he’d known about Danzo and he became Hokage… she didn’t even want to think about what he would’ve done. He might’ve deserted the village, he might’ve gone and killed the newly appointed Hokage, he might’ve become the village’s enemy. No matter what option she considered, it was a terrible one.

Sakura knew that it was not that easy though. Sasuke was smart and, now that he was not blinded by revenge and fury, he might be able to get to the truth on his own as he matured. Apart from that, what would Danzo do with Sasuke now? Would he kill him? Would he allow him to live? What were the chances of Danzo willingly giving up Naruto to the Akatsuki? How far would he go to make Konoha strong and powerful? Would he make an alliance with the enemy? Considering his twisted ways, there was a great chance that he would do something along those lines. If that was the case, could Sakura even consider her own village as support or backup when it came to Obito and the Akatsuki?

Sakura tightly closed her eyes as she felt her body start shaking with distress, the beginning of a panic attack creeping up on her. She confusedly looked up and watched her surroundings for a moment. Everyone was slowly leaving and talking animatedly and she mindlessly walked with them, trying hard to keep her panic from coming forth with full force in plain daylight. Sakura’s eyes came upon a small deserted alley to her right and dashed inside.

Her feet were failing her as her legs shook uncontrollably now. Her left forearm was flushed against the wall in an attempt to keep a standing position. Her head was a mess and she felt dizzy and disoriented. Despite all that, she didn’t miss the presence that entered the alley right behind her, but she didn’t have the mind to pinpoint if it was a known presence or not. Sakura was not going to take a chance in being seen like this, because what explanation could she even give? She was about to take another shaky step away from it, but the presence flash-stepped – meaning that it was a shinobi – to her side in an instant and grabbed her hand with an iron hold.

 

**A/N: OK, so this has to be the longest chapter I’ve ever written (10 k in case you didn’t notice). That’s why it kinda took a bit longer for me to update.**

**Anyways. Wow, right? I bet you didn’t expect that. Or did you? I did send some hints, but I like to think that they weren’t too obvious.**

**What do you think of the major plot twist – Danzo becoming Hokage? There are like a thousand consequences that could develop from this one change. PLEASE tell me your thoughts on that one!!**

**Also, what about the small SasuSaku moments I put in? What do you think about how their relationship is evolving?**

**As always, I love you reviews. They always encourage me to write sooner.**

**AND, before I forget – because I did forget on the last chapter, damn – I want to thank my beta-reader MonochromeAce for always helping me out with my foreign-language mistakes.**


	24. Possible Ally

** CHAPTER 24 **

Through the years, Sakura had become a lot of things. She was smart, skilled, and fast – overall she thought herself a strong kunoichi when it came to battle. She was a fairly good actress and usually didn’t have trouble masking her thoughts. However, the control she had on her _own_ emotions were no more than regular – which was still an improvement because it had been awful when she was younger.

Seeing Danzo be announced as the Fifth Hokage right on the spot where Tsunade’s funeral had been held had been too much for her. She’d already been a bit shaken by simply standing at that spot and her whole self-control had gone out the window the moment Danzo walked onto the stage. Sakura had been so terrified, so worried, so nervous, that she didn’t think that she could get a grip on herself.

She had honestly been worried that someone she knew would see here in that state as she walked amongst the crowd. The moment she’d seen the alley, she’d taken the shot and entered immediately. Sakura thought that she would just sit there until her thoughts were in place and then go home to figure out what to do from now on. However, she hadn’t expected to be followed into the alley, much less be held in place by a strong hand.

Sakura was truly in a difficult predicament. She couldn’t move away or escape her captor, because their hand was holding her own in an incredibly tight grip – the person must’ve been at least jonin, maybe even ANBU. Sakura couldn’t turn around and face them just like that and pretend like nothing happened. For one, her whole face was probably a mess with the huge frown, the glassy eyes and the labored breathing. If she did turn around, they would immediately now that something had happened during the Hokage announcement. Through her clouded mind, Sakura failed to realize that her _whole_ body was now shaking and that her steps had been too clumsy for a healthy person.

Sakura was honestly waiting for a miracle as seconds passed by and the hand kept its firm grip on her. Sakura stared up ahead, trying to find something – anything – to make the person lose interest in her. Because if she didn’t, would she have to fight her way out of this? What would happen if she attacked an ANBU? What-

“Sakura.” A deep voice resounded from the person behind her. A voice she knew too well.

She almost fell as relief washed over her and she sharply turned around to see Kakashi standing there. His lone eye was creased in worry and a frown could be seen from under the mask that covered his face. Kakashi slowly weakened his hold on her wrist, but he didn’t completely let go – clearly not trusting her to stay in place. Sakura took a step back and supported her body on the brick wall of the alley as she tried to regain her breath and allowed the shaking to subside.

“What is _wrong_ with you?” Kakashi said stressing the word wrong, which proved that her behavior had been truly out of the ordinary.

“I-nothing.” Sakura forced a smile, but it came as a grimace. “I’m fine. Just needed to step away from the crowd, that’s all.”

“You’re most definitely not fine. Sakura, if I need to I will bring someone else to take a look at you.” Kakashi said sternly.

“No!” Sakura blurted with almost desperation and then covered her mouth with her hand. If she’d been suspicious before, she was even more suspicious now. She felt her body start shaking once again, her panic once again taking over her.

“I’m going to go find a medic. Stay here.” Kakashi was about to move away when Sakura took a hold of his arm, not allowing him to leave. He stopped and took a hold of both her arms firmly. “Sakura, take a _look_ at yourself. Why aren’t you allowing me to go find help?”

“Please – just.” Sakura breathed in deeply and then exhaled. “Wait here for a moment.”

Kakashi reluctantly nodded and stood in front of Sakura as she tried to gather herself. It did take her quite some time, since she was now stuck between trying to calm down and worrying about what she would tell Kakashi. She finally opted for the former and was able to calm herself. Her body, now emptied of the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins, relaxed and she allowed herself to sit on the concrete floor beneath her. Kakashi mirrored her actions and kneeled down in front of her. The silence stretched for another couple seconds and Sakura felt her mind start working once again. How the _hell_ was she supposed to explain this to Kakashi and convince him not to have a psychiatrist take a look at her?

“Now, care to explain?” he asked slowly.

“It’s something personal, Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura tried waved it off. “I just don’t want anyone to find out about it.”

“Bullshit.” Kakashi said with such a calm voice, that Sakura knew he wouldn’t buy any of her lies. “I _saw_ you there. During the announcement. I _know_ that your reaction has something to do with that.”

“I-” Sakura fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. Kakashi wouldn’t believe her anymore is she dared deny that fact. “You’re right. It does.”

“I can’t even start to imagine why someone like you would be so affected by this.” Kakashi frowned.

Sakura was _aware_ of that. She wasn’t supposed to have much understanding of village politics, of Danzo’s history or anything like that. She was just a young kunoichi that had just been promoted to chunin a couple months ago. She wasn’t supposed to have a _reason_ to be upset, but she did. Because she knew just how horrible Danzo would be as a Hokage, how much damage he could do to their beloved village. Because she knew that Sasuke was now in danger and that, with the power he now had, Danzo could try to finish off what he’d started. Because, in Danzo’s eyes, Sakura would be considered a traitor for keeping her time travel a secret. She would become a threat to him due to all the information that she had about him.

Because everything now had taken a turn for the worse. It would be so much more difficult to keep Sasuke safe _and_ within the village. Because she feared that she wouldn’t be able to do anything to achieve her self-imposed mission. Sakura was feeling the weight of her responsibility like a huge load that had become too much for her to bear. Not like this. Not with Danzo as Hokage.

Sakura stole a glimpse at her teacher, someone she’d known for eight years now. Someone she had trusted with her life for such a long time. Someone she was certain valued his team-mates and friends above any twisted sense of justice. Sakura felt her heart leap at the possibility. Could she even _do_ it? Would he be safe? Would _she_ be safe? If she told Kakashi the truth – _everything_ – he would definitely believe her, right? She had the information to make sure that he did. He would most likely take her side on things – he was a fair person and he had always looked up to benevolent leadership.

What if she didn’t have to do things on her own now? What if she could rely on someone else? Now that there was a looming threat inside the village, Sakura was in need of a true ally. Kakashi was strong, he was a jonin and an ex-ANBU. He was smart and he was dedicated to the village. And last but not least, he was someone that she trusted. If there was anyone that she could safely tell the truth to in this timeline, it was him.

Apart from all of that, Sakura couldn’t honestly think of a reasonable excuse for her weird behavior. So, she took a deep breath to clear her thoughts for a moment and then looked up at her teacher, her eyes shining with resolve.

“Kakashi, there’s a really good reason for that.” Sakura started and felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted of her shoulders. Kakashi lifted an eyebrow at the lack of ‘sensei’. “I’m-”

“Sakura-chaaaan!” Naruto’s voice broke the moment and Sakura jumped in surprise.

She almost choked on her unfinished words and turned her head sharply to see Naruto standing at the entrance of the alley with Hinata right behind him. He was waving at her vigorously but the stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes landed on Kakashi – who was kneeling in front of her as her back was against the wall, in the shadows of an alley.  Naruto jumped back in shock and then stomped into the alley with a twitching eyebrow. Sakura just knew what would come out of his mouth.

“HAAAAA!!??!” Naruto’s face was in utter disbelief and he pointed at Kakashi accusingly as soon as he was next to them. “Kakashi-sensei, are you trying to rape Sakura-chan???!!”

“ _Ugh._ ” Kakashi groaned and sighed in annoyance. He stole one last look as Sakura, which she clearly read. _We’ll finish this later._

“Naruto, you baka! We were just talking!” Sakura complained and punched him on the arm. However she was actually quite grateful. She was about to spill her secret to Kakashi – which she still thought wasn’t such a bad idea – but she wanted to think it over. Sakura’s eyes faintly caught a blushing Hinata in the back, who now looked less flustered than she would’ve usually been. She was probably getting used to Naruto’s antics.

“It still seems pretty weird. _Why_ would you be talking inside an alley? Could it be… gossip?” Naruto’s eyebrows shot up.

“I’m taking my leave. Bye.” Kakashi just poofed out of existence and Sakura cursed him for leaving her alone.

“Sakura-chan, tell me!” Naruto shook her shoulder vigorously and Sakura groaned once again.

“It’s not _gossip_ , Naruto.” She stood up and started walking back to the street. She passed Hinata and threw a smile at her. “Hey, Hinata.”

“H-Hi.” The Hyuuga girl sheepishly smiled.

“Wait, Sakura-chan.” Naruto immediately caught up to her. “If it’s not gossip, what is it?”

“I’ll – eh – go home now too.” Hinata waved and turned around to leave.

“Bye, Hinata-chan! I’ll see you at the gates before I leave!” Naruto waved back and then turned to look at Sakura once again, expectation clear in his eyes.

“Naruto, it’s nothing, really. Just… will you please drop it for now?” Sakura sighed and Naruto seemed to _finally_ get a clue and stopped bugging her. He could really be a pain in the ass sometimes, especially when it came to understanding personal boundaries. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Yeah. Jiraiya’s picking me up in fifteen minutes. I still have to pack some stuff though.”

“Can I come with you? You’re leaving for who knows how long now.” Sakura silently – and slightly guiltily – _hoped_ that he wouldn’t come anywhere near Konoha with Danzo as Hokage, at least not until he was strong enough to stand his ground.

Naruto eagerly accepted and they walked towards his house. Sakura tried to make the most out of the little time she still had with her blonde friend, but she still felt on edge due to the announcement. Naruto’s presence did usually help her forget about her worries a bit, but it definitely wasn’t enough to make her forget about _Danzo._ Sakura’s mind went back to all of the thoughts that were plaguing her as soon as Naruto entered his room to pack up.

Sakura knew that everything would be more difficult now and not only because Danzo would be Hokage, which gave him a lot of manpower and authority on its own. He also was the unquestionable head of root ANBU, and that meant that he would have a silent army with unquestionable loyalty towards him. Maybe he would even start using ANBU root to spy on everyone. Sakura gasped and widened her eyes. What if there had been ANBU root watching her exchange with Kakashi? She was now extremely grateful that Naruto had interrupted, because she hadn’t even thought about the possibility of someone eavesdropping on them.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and spread out her chakra, trying to cover as much ground as possible – which was not much since she wasn’t a sensor type. She managed to feel up to a ratio of a hundred meters around her. Sakura’s body suddenly froze in shock.

 _What?! How is this even_ possible _? A coincidence?_

There were two incredibly strong presences coming their way. Not just that, Sakura recognized them too. One of them was definitely Itachi, so she assumed that the second was Kisame.

Sakura’s mind started working at a hundred miles per hour. Why the hell were they in Konoha now? It _did_ make sense that Itachi would come to Konoha in order to send a message to Danzo, since he would do anything to protect Sasuke. However, why had they arrived so soon? They must’ve been aware that the next Hokage would be announced that day, and _who_ the next Hokage would be. How come they knew in advance? Who had told them? Was the Akatsuki working with Danzo?

She recovered from her shock when Naruto opened the door of his bedroom enthusiastically, a small bag thrown over his shoulder. Sakura widened her eyes and flash-stepped next to him, took a hold of his wrist and pulled him out of the apartment as quickly as she could. As she was closing the door to his apartment, she heard glass shattering from direction of the living room.

“What?” Naruto asked dumbfounded at Sakura’s actions and taken aback by the sound of his window shattering.

“Just run, Naruto!” Sakura said pulling him across the hallway. Her heartbeat was crazed, her senses as sharp as ever. The Akatsuki were here to take Naruto away, and this time Jiraiya was not around. Naruto and herself would never be enough to stand against both Akatsuki members.

Suddenly, she was forced to stop sharply when the wall in front of her was destroyed. Itachi and Kisame appeared in the blink of an eye and were suddenly blocking their way. Sakura’s abrupt stop made Naruto crash into her back. However, she didn’t give it a second thought since her eyes were trained on the two people in front of her. She tightened her hold on Naruto's hand and took a step back. Naruto must’ve sensed that something serious was going on, because he remained quiet.

"Oh?" Kisame smirked amusedly. "The girl seems to know who we are."

"No matter. We’ll do what we must." Itachi's low voice sounded clear in the hallway.

Sakura clenched her jaw and moved a bit in front of Naruto, forcing her mind to work as fast as possible. She couldn’t defeat them like this and probably even with her seal it wouldn’t be enough – not that she could use it now that Danzo was Hokage. There was only one way to deal with this. Sakura sent as much chakra to her legs as she could and turned around as she pulled Naruto with her. They sprinted towards the other end of the hallway, where a second staircase was located. Sakura’s inhumane hold on Naruto must’ve hurt a bit, because he grimaced for a second as they dashed away from the enemy.

Sakura’s speed must’ve been unexpected for such a young kunoichi, because she heard Kisame hum in surprise. Her feet moved at top speed towards the second staircase, she took a turn to run down with Naruto… but crashed into something and both teens were thrown back.

“What the hell?” the person groaned and Sakura looked up to see… Sasuke. He seemed pretty pissed due to the collision. “I don’t even know why I came to say good-bye to – what’s wrong?”

Sasuke seemed to notice Sakura’s wide fearful eyes and her labored breathing. It took less than a second for The dots to connect in his head and he immediately figured that they must’ve been escaping from something. He frowned and started moving forward to look at what they’d been running from, but Sakura’s hand shot out and gripped his shoulder in an iron grip.

“Let’s just go.” She pleaded with worried eyes as she kept him in place. She threw a glance towards the hallway to see that Itachi and Kisame were coming their way and would get there anytime. Her eyes returned to Sasuke and she squeezed his shoulder tighter. “ _Please_.”

Sasuke’s frown deepened but he slowly nodded. Sakura pulled Naruto up from the floor in one swift move and pushed Sasuke back towards the staircase to run down the stairs. However, her plans were spoiled when a deep voice spoke from the hallway.

“Long time no see, foolish little brother.”

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and his whole body tensed. Sakura almost crashed into him, but managed to stop her movements in time. Naruto looked at Sasuke with wide eyes and then looked back into the hallway. Everybody new about the Uchiha massacre, so he immediately figured that this guy was Itachi Uchiha and finally realized just how bad the situation was. Sakura bit her lip as she watched Sasuke’s body shake a bit. He sharply turned around with wide shocked eyes and strode past his two teammates and into the hallway. His eyes met Itachi’s and Sakura heard him growl in rage as he fisted his hands.

“ _Shit._ ” She turned around to watch Naruto with a frown and spoke with a commanding voice. “Naruto, no matter _what_ , you don’t let any of them get a hold of you. _Do you understand_?”

As they both moved back into the hallway Naruto nodded in agreement, thankfully not questioning her. Sakura knew that there was no way that Sasuke would leave with Itachi there and they couldn’t just leave him behind. However, they still had a chance at this if Jiraiya arrived soon to pick up Naruto; her guess was that there were a good five minutes before he arrived. Her eyes went back to Sasuke, who was looking straight ahead, so she couldn’t see his expression.

“Huh? Did you just say _brother_?” Kisame’s smirk grew even wider.

“Shut up!” Sasuke growled. “Itachi, I’ve been waiting for this day for too long. I _will_ avenge my clan today!”

Sasuke jerked his hand to the front and loaded his chidori, while Itachi simply stared at him with bored eyes. Sasuke finished and took off towards his older brother at full speed, the chidori casting a bright light on his right side. Itachi took a single step to the side, shifting his body and caught Sasuke’s wrist swiftly. He redirected Sasuke’s attack towards a wall, which exploded into tiny pieces.

Itachi pulled Sasuke upwards with one flick of his wrist and then elbowed him back down. Sasuke coughed blood as he was beaten by a rapid onslaught of attacks before landing on the floor harshly. Itachi was about to attack Sasuke again, but he noticed two dozen Narutos running his way. Both Akatsuki took a defensive position as Naruto’s clones came upon them and started punching and kicking at Kisame. Kisame laughed loudly and easily made each and every clone of Naruto’s poof into thin air. Naruto scowled and kept sending clones at the shark Akatsuki, trying to listen to Sakura’s request of not getting caught but starting to lose his patience.

Sakura was hidden amongst the sea of clones and she neared Itachi with a racing heart. Her chakra was running through her body at full capacity – something she hadn’t felt since her past life – and it enhanced her speed to a level she hadn’t shown before. When Sakura was in front of Itachi, she spun in the air and materialized chakra scalpels onto her fingers. Of course, Itachi’s sharingan caught her intentions and he swiftly moved out of the way as she tried to attack him again and again. He managed to get around her as she tried to cut his lower abdomen and came up from behind her, catching her arms in a strong hold.

Sakura hissed and cursed inwardly, but gathered more chakra into her hands and used some of her monstrous strength to lift him up. He probably wasn’t expecting that, since he was almost twice as heavy as she was, but managed to turn around just before she threw him into a wall. He kicked her in the back and moved just in time to dodge the kunai Sasuke had aimed at his lungs. The young Uchiha landed right next to Sakura and cursed, his eyes trained on his brother. Sakura looked at him from her peripheral vision and noticed that he didn’t seem to be rejecting her assistance… for now.

“AAAAAGHHH!” Sasuke didn’t seem to be thinking clearly – as expected – and he simply launched himself at the Akatsuki with his kunai in hand.

The older Uchiha simply caught Sasuke’s wrist and twisted his arm, forcing him to release the weapon. Before he had a chance to attack him again, Sakura aimed a kick at his stomach, but his sharingan saw her attack in time and he caught her leg. Sasuke aimed a punch at Itachi’s arm and the Akatsuki released Sakura. Itachi punched Sasuke square on the jaw and he was sent backwards a couple meters. Sakura took a hold of the older Uchiha’s wrist and slammed him into the wall with chakra, destroying yet the building even further.

However, Itachi didn’t seem too fazed by the impact and moved his hands at a faster speed than before. He caught Sakura’s wrist in a strong grip, to which she yelped in pain and was forced to release her hold on him. It gave him the opportunity to turn them around and push her into what remained of the wall. Sakura intently looked at Itachi’s chest – avoiding his eyes at all costs – and tried to kick him in his lower stomach. Itachi deflected her attempts and finally moved his hand up to grab her jaw in a tight hold keeping her in place against the wall. However, before she was forced to close her eyes to avoid meeting his gaze, Sasuke was on them once again. Itachi easily grabbed Sasuke by his shirt before he could do anything and slammed him up next to Sakura.

“You seem quite frustrated.” He spoke up at Sasuke, and moved his hand to strangle him. “Of course you are. You’re _weak._ ”

Sakura felt Sasuke shake in either anger or fear next to her and she cursed due to the danger that came with using her seal. Her mind was overwhelmed by the amount of considerations that she had to take when fighting an Akatsuki member while having to worry about Danzo finding out about her secret. Sakura wondered if she should use her monstrous strength again or simply stay there to delay the fight until Jiraiya came.

“Do you know why you lack strength?” Itachi smirked evilly and leaned forward to speak into Sasuke’s ear. “It’s because you lack _hatred_.”

Honestly, Itachi’s acting skills were so good that she almost believed him to be evil even though she knew otherwise. However, Sasuke didn’t know this and Sakura would _not_ allow Itachi to make him retreat into his shell of isolation once again. Sakura squinted an eye open and looked at Sasuke, who was next to her. She grasped onto Itachi’s hand – which was still holding her jaw in place – when she noticed Sasuke’s eyes opening slightly. He was about to make eye contact with his older brother when Sakura’s other hand shot upwards and covered Sasuke’s eyes.

“ _Don’t_ look into his eyes, Sasuke.” Sakura groaned and averted her eyes as soon as she was sure he was fine.

Sakura felt Itachi’s eyes on her as he observed her intently, clearly curious about how a young kunoichi like her knew of his ability. He moved his head away from Sasuke and closer to Sakura, his hand tightening his hold on her jaw. Sakura took a deep breath and considered her options.

Itachi was now in front of her. She couldn’t release her seal and she couldn’t use ninjutsu because it would probably kill a civilian since they were in an apartment building. Thankfully, since the Akatsuki wanted to simply get Naruto without much interference, they probably would avoid using ninjutsu as well. Her _only_ real option was to stretch out her encounter with Itachi as much as possible.

“You don’t really mean those words, do you?” Sakura spoke with some difficulty due to Itachi’s hold on her jaw. She faintly noticed that Naruto stopped sending clones at Kisame and that now everyone’s attention was on her. “Hatred is not what makes people strong. Protecting the ones you love is the source of true strength.”

Sasuke’s hand shot to hers and he gripped her hand in a tight hold, trying to tell her to shut up and stop provoking his brother. It must’ve taken some effort on his part, because Itachi was crushing his throat with great force and she guessed that he would pass out anytime. However, Sakura ignored him and focused her attention on the older Uchiha in front of her instead. He leaned closer to her and moved her upwards a bit more, so that her head was now leveled with his own.

“Though this girl is clearly _stronger_ than you, she’s _wrong_.” He said, still speaking to Sasuke but staring at Sakura. “I am a living example of that truth.”

Sakura had kept her eyes trained on Itachi’s chest, but she then closed her eyes and allowed her chakra to sense her surroundings. She immediately pinpointed Jiraiya’s strong presence entering the first floor of the building. Sakura opened her eyes knowing that the fight would soon be over. Surprisingly, that didn’t make her feel any better. Itachi was here, in front of her, and he was a central piece of the whole puzzle that was her mission. She was _so_ not going to let him get away just like that. She had one more card up her sleeve; a strong genjutsu that she’d been developing for a long time for when she came face to face with Obito. It would drain her of most of her remaining chakra and Itachi would probably be able to break out of it if he wanted to, but Jiraiya’s nearing presence somehow pushed her to take the chance.

“You’re right.” Sakura smiled softly through Itachi’s hold, her knowing eyes still on his chest. “You _are_ a living example of that truth.”

Sakura felt Itachi almost imperceptibly jump at her implication and his guard lower just a bit. She immediately gathered her chakra to her hand and touched the side of Itachi’s face in one quick move. Her chakra entered his body in one second and quickly started showing him the images that she casted on him. _Sasuke getting the cursed seal, Sasuke going away with Orochimaru, older Sasuke’s face twisted in mindless rage-_

Itachi broke through her genjutsu in the blink of an eye – she had honestly wished he would take the bait and keep on watching - and threw Sasuke away. She inwardly cursed when his other arm connected squarely with her jaw – which had already been strained by his strong hold – and she felt it break under the pressure. Her body was thrown to the side and she landed heavily on the floor, immediately rolling over onto her side facing Itachi. He was staring at her with wide eyes, and she wondered if it was due to anger or shock.

“Sakura!” she heard Sasuke’s strained scream as he gasped for air. Naruto’s voice spoke too from behind him, but she barely noticed due to the loud drumming in her chest.

Through widened eyes, she watched Itachi slowly take a couple steps towards her. However, before he could make it to where she lay, Sasuke flash-stepped in front of her. Sakura saw that Naruto was running towards her too, but Kisame moved in front of him to stop his attempt. Her heart jumped when she saw Jiraiya entering the hallway and taking action immediately.

She allowed her head to rest on the floor and then assessed her reserves. She had very little chakra left, but the fracture of her jaw would take a really long time to fully heal if she did _nothing_ now. So, even though she would faint immediately after, Sakura gathered whatever chakra was left in her and put her glowing hand to her face.

Sakura’s head was throbbing due to exhaustion and she started seeing black dots. However, before her mind slipped to unconsciousness, she was certain that she was seeing the most bizarre thing ever. The building that had been made of walls, floor, and ceiling… suddenly looked like the insides of an animal. She frowned at the unlikeness of that and wondered if she was having a hallucination. As darkness engulfed her, she heard the voices of her team-mates surround her.

**-x-**

Sakura felt the heaviness of her eyelids with a stronger force than usual. However, it wasn’t the first time that it happened to her and she knew what it meant; she’d passed out from chakra depletion. Her mind slowly became more conscious and she suddenly remembered the previous events.

Her whole body tensed and she opened her eyes sharply as she moved to sit up. She looked around to see that she was in a hospital room, which meant that probably not much havoc had been created while she was unconscious. There was no sign of Naruto or Jiraiya, but Sasuke was leaning forward in a chair on the other side of the room, his elbows resting on his knees. Sakura smiled and was about to greet him when she noticed his pointed glare. She gulped and looked down at her hands.

“Are you all right?” he asked calmly from behind his folded hands, but Sakura could hear the barely contained anger in his voice.

“I’m fine. I fixed my jaw back there, so I only have to recover from chakra depletion.” Sakura smiled nervously. A silence stretched for another moment and then she heard Sasuke hiss in annoyance.

“How much of an _idiot_ are you?” Sasuke said in a low voice and stood up, taking long strides towards her bed. He pointed at her accusingly and raised his voice a bit. “What on earth were you thinking when you started provoking _him_ , huh?”

“I’m sorry.” Sakura frowned, not knowing what to say without blowing her cover.

“You do know that he could’ve killed you on the spot, right? You were _lucky_ that he only broke your jaw instead of your neck, because he certainly could’ve done that.”

“Well… I didn’t want him to attack you, so I-”

“You didn’t have to recklessly put your life in danger while stepping into _my_ business.” He said with a frown. Sakura’s eyes widened, then narrowed at his hypocrisy and she finally leaned forwards.

“So, somehow it’s unreasonable for me to risk my life to help you out, but it’s completely reasonable for you to simply jump into a fight against two S-ranked criminals.” Sakura snorted.

“He and I have unfinished business. You _do_ know that.”

“Not good enough.” Sakura lifted her chin in a defying manner.

“Not good enough? He _massacred_ my people, Sakura.” Sasuke growled. “Did you expect me to just see him there and then fucking _leave_?”

“I know that! But I did expect you to think before mindlessly acting, Sasuke.” Sakura frowned. “You could’ve died if Naruto and I hadn’t interfered.” _Not that Itachi would’ve allowed that to happen anyways._

“Whatever!” Sasuke sighed in exasperation. “I didn’t want to talk about my actions. _You_ were the one who did stupid things while fighting them.”

“You can’t just lash out at me because I was trying to buy time, when you impulsively attacked two members of the Akatsuki on your own.”

“Trying to buy time?”

“Yeah. I knew Jiraiya was going to arrive soon to pick up Naruto.”

“Oh.” Sasuke averted his eyes, sighed and sat down on the bed right next to Sakura’s right hand. However, he didn’t meet her eyes for another minute or so, his gaze firmly trained on the ground beneath his feet.

Sakura wondered if he was upset that she had interfered in his fight. Or if he was angry about the fact that she questioned his thinking when attacking Itachi. She didn’t want him to walk away from her. She didn’t want him to shut people out again, not when Danzo was going to be Hokage now. She looked at him tentatively.

“Are you angry?” Sakura said and her voice was so small that she cursed herself for allowing her uncertainty to show.

Sasuke looked up to the window on the opposite wall after she spoke and then turned to observe her face. There was a frown in place, but it seemed completely different from the one he had displayed while they argued. It somehow seemed… softer and less angry. It actually seemed troubled. Was he wondering why she sounded afraid?

“No. It’s just that I already lost my family to him.” he said, and his frown disappeared. His eyes looked at her intently for another moment and Sakura was reminded of his lingering gaze at the training ground the day before. He seemed to be trying to find an answer in her emerald orbs, since his eyes were unguarded, curious. “I was just…”

“Worried.” Sakura said when she realized that Sasuke probably couldn’t find the words to express his feelings. Or maybe it was simply that he was still uncomfortable when it came to expressing his emotions.

Sasuke looked away from her and at the floor once again, but nonetheless he nodded once and admitted in a soft voice. “Worried.”

Sakura smiled at the fact that Sasuke had actually recognized being worried for her. She slightly moved her hand so that her fingers brushed his own. Sasuke’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes were soon observing her thoroughly.

“I was worried too.” Sakura spoke carefully, a bit afraid that she’d push her luck to far this time. “That’s why I couldn’t leave you to fight on your own. That’s why I tried to distract him.”

Sakura had honestly expected Sasuke to do something when she spoke, but he didn’t. He didn’t say anything else, he didn’t look away, he didn’t stand up to leave, and he didn’t move his hand away from hers. All he did was look at her with unnervingly blank eyes and stayed as still as a rock. His hand was radiating such warmth into her own, that Sakura wondered if he would agree to stay like that until she went back to sleep. However, she soon realized where her thoughts were going and cleared her mind. As the seconds passed by, Sakura felt a lump form on her throat and she gulped nervously, but tried to keep a straight face despite of it. _Please don’t let him suspect how I feel, please don’t let him see through me._

“I know.” Sasuke finally said.

His voice was so calm, so collected, that Sakura wondered if he’d been thinking about something else entirely during his silence. He began to move his hand away from Sakura’s hold, but squeezed her hand for a second before finally pulling away. Of course Sasuke would feel a bit anxious about sustained physical contact and move away in the end. But he did show her that he wasn’t upset about it with that small gesture, and Sakura felt a small smile tug at her lips.

“So, where is Naruto?” Sakura asked, trying to change the subject and avoid an unnecessary awkward moment.

“He left a couple hours ago.” Sasuke answered truthfully, but there was an apologetic air around him.

“What?” Sakura’s eyes widened.

“Naruto wanted to stay – he bickered like a child because of it. However, Jiraiya was adamant in leaving immediately.” Sasuke said.

“Oh.” Sakura’s eyes darted downwards. Of course Naruto would have to leave as soon as possible. Who knows what Danzo would do with the Kyuubi’s Jinchuricki when he became Hokage the next day? Nonetheless, it didn’t help Sakura feel any less disappointed about not being able to say good-bye properly. If only she hadn’t healed her jaw she would’ve been there when he left. She-

“Naruto said to tell you that he’ll keep on writing.” Sasuke looked at her knowingly, one eyebrow slightly raised. “He knew you’d feel guilty about passing out.”

“I _don’t_.” Sakura slightly blushed at being read so easily.

“You do.” Sasuke smirked.

Sakura frowned a bit, and was about to say something else, when someone poofed into the room. Sakura looked to her left just in time for the newcomer to greet them.

“Yo!” Kakashi’s lone eye wrinkled in a smile. “How’s my favorite female student feeling?”

“Kakashi-sensei, I’m your _only_ female student.” Sakura deadpanned.

“Details, details. So, I’m guessing you´re fine.” The jonin shrugged and then walked to the chair that was farthest from her bed. He threw himself in it and took out his ever-present porn literature.

The two younger shinobi looked at their teacher for a good minute or two, but he said nothing nor stood up. Sakura knew _exactly_ why he was here – and she felt anxiousness build in her slowly – but Sasuke didn’t know anything at all.

“Why are you here?”

“Huh? Is there a rule against me visiting?” Kakashi’s eyes didn’t leave his book. “Don’t worry, I’m just here to make sure nothing bad happens to Sakura-chan. I’m not trying to steal her away or something.”

Sasuke’s eyebrow twitched at the implication, but he didn’t say anything. His eyes moved to Sakura – who was still pretty much bedridden – and then at Kakashi. Then at Kakashi’s book and then back to Sakura. He frowned.

“I’ll be fine.” Sakura laughed softly, reading his thoughts. “Kakashi might be a pervert, but he’s no pedophile. Even if he were, he wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me.”

“Sakura-chan, you hurt my feelings.” Kakashi said with mock hurt, but the way his eye darted at her told her that he wasn’t too comfortable with her teasing.

“All right. I’ll see you around.”  Sasuke waved at her and then nodded at Kakashi.

When Sasuke finally closed the door behind him, Sakura felt the weight of Kakashi presence at its fullest. She gulped nervously and then looked back at him, who was sitting in the furthest corner of the room. His book was still open in front of him, but his lone eye was now trained on her and there was no longer a hint of humor in it. After another moment of silence Kakashi finally lowered his book and spoke up with a firm and almost deadly voice, something she had heard him use only on certain occasions.

“So. Are we going to finish the conversation we started this morning?”

“Aa.” Sakura agreed and nodded once. “I will have to ask you to soundproof the room and move to sit next to the bed.”

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in cold suspicion and Sakura felt fear tug at her lower stomach. She was in no way able to fend for herself right now, and Kakashi was seriously considering her a threat. He never gave that look to anyone he considered an ally. Thankfully, Kakashi decided to do as she asked and soundproofed the room with a jutsu. He slowly picked up the chair, settled it right next to Sakura and sat down carefully. His vigilant eye never left her and she could tell by the way his shoulders were tensed that he was not feeling safe.

Sakura didn’t blame him. Kakashi would certainly be suspicious if a mere fourteen year old were to be afraid of Danzo becoming Hokage. The most logical explanation would be for her to be an enemy in disguise or someone with deep understanding of ROOT or the council. She still thought that the best course of action would be to tell Kakashi about her secret. Not only was he already suspicious of her, but now that Danzo was Hokage it was necessary for someone else to know _everything_. Sakura straightened up in her bed and then folded her hands in front of her face covering her mouth.

“I will be speaking in this manner so that no one can read my lips.” Sakura spoke clearly through her fingers. Kakashi’s frown deepened but nodded nonetheless. “Kakashi, before I start I want you to know that I’m not your enemy. If you still have doubts when I’m finished speaking, I can use a genjutsu to show you everything after I’ve recovered.”

“All right.” Kakashi said and leaned back in a slightly less tense manner, but Sakura could tell that he still had his guard up. “Go on.”

“The truth is that, though I am your student Haruno Sakura, I’m not _exactly_ who you think I am.” Sakura spoke slowly, her eyes intently locked on her sensei’s making sure that he wouldn’t attack her. “I’m actually a twenty-year old sanin level kunoichi and I came back in time to stop the world from falling apart.”

 

**A/N: OK. So I actually finished this chapter less than a week after I posted the previous one.**

**The whole thing is starting to build up. Sakura actually told Kakashi the truth about her time-travel.**

**What did you think about the fight against Itachi? Did Sakura expose too much about her knowledge of him? Do you think he’ll be suspicious of her?**

**Remember that reviews are love!! I love hearing your thoughts on my story so that I can improve as a writer and I also love just your support.**

**I want to thank my beta MonochromeAce for the quick revision of this chapter!**

**Have a nice week everyone!**

 


	25. Away

** CHAPTER 25 **

Kakashi was an experienced ninja. He was only 28 years old, but he’d already been an ANBU captain and had fought in the last war. He had seen almost everything that was to be seen by shinobi; the weirdest abilities, the most dangerous criminals and missions, the shameless corruption of the leaders. However, he had never come across something like _this._

He had noticed something off about Sakura ever since she became his student. He’d read her file from the academy teachers and had later thought it was strange that none of them had noticed her abilities as a fighter and as a medic. He had also been quite surprised by how quick she’d improved ever since, given that she didn’t have a sharingan to copy techniques nor did she have a tailed beast sealed inside her. She’d been even _better_ than her two teammates.

It had _always_ been nagging him unconsciously and he had known that there was something up. He’d done as he had always said; look underneath the underneath. However, this time he had simply decided to trust her because he instinctively trusted Sakura.

While he was watching Hiruzen resign as Hokage and nominate Danzo as the next one – something that he’d been dreading ever since he met the shady man – he decided to look around and gauge the reactions of his fellow shinobi. While he was at it, his eyes came upon Sakura and he saw her shaking and tensing up as she watched Danzo enter the platform. He’d immediately known that there was something up between her and said man. When he saw that she wasn’t getting a grip on herself he approached her before a root ANBU could. He was expecting her to say that Danzo had done something to her family, that she had some connections with root or something along those lines.

What he _didn’t_ expect was for her to be a twenty year old time-traveler. When she first told him he’d almost snorted at her – thinking it was a joke – but she convinced him to listen to the whole story. And so, Kakashi sat there for almost two hours listening as she told him about her previous life.

Kakashi half-believed her story as she spoke. Everything had been believable; Sasuke leaving the village, Naruto leaving with Jiraiya, her training with Tsunade – the Fifth Hokage – the truth about the Uchiha massacre and Itachi, the Akatsuki and the tailed beasts, Kabuto and his army of dead shinobi.

The story had made complete sense, but it was still a crazy story and he was not going to believe such a thing _that_ easily. However, when she told him about Obito he had been finally convinced that she’d been speaking the truth. There was _no_ way that she could’ve possibly known about Obito and Rin – no one knew but Kakashi _himself_.

Sakura had a hand on intel that no shinobi – no matter what rank – could’ve ever had. She had detailed info on the abilities of every Akatsuki member, even those whose abilities were still unknown. She’d displayed abilities that couldn’t be explained and she had known stuff about him that he’d never told her. She knew what his favorite Icha-Icha was and why he was so afraid of hospitals – which wasn’t really relevant but gave glimpses of how much she actually knew him.

He had been shocked and quiet the whole time and he could only imagine how stunned his expression must’ve looked like. The whole thing had been so much for Kakashi that he had to tell her to wait a couple days until he processed it all. He’d been struggling with everything she’d said – _especially_ the truth about Obito – for all of the next day. Thankfully it’d been their day off so he wasn’t expected to meet anyone. He’d sat in his living-room and had forced his mind to digest all of that in one go. It had taken a real toll on him and he’d felt his whole sense of security had been shattered.  What was he even supposed to do now? Was he to go find Obito and bring him back to his senses? Stay in Konoha and support _Danzo_ of all people? Was that man truly and consciously appointed as Hokage or had he blackmailed Hiruzen?

Sakura’s narration of Pein’s attack on Konoha and the fourth war had been horribly accurate. He heard her voice tremble and her hands shake as she told him about the deaths she’d seen firsthand. It had reminded Kakashi of his own experience at war. It had brought chills on his skin and a heavy knot in his throat. Sakura’s experience had been even worse than his own; every shinobi nation had been wiped out in her time, after all.

When Monday came, Kakashi was sadly forced to leave his house and head to the training grounds where he would meet Sasuke, Sakura and Anko as usual. He was secretly nervous about meeting Sakura; he’d always envisioned her as a _child_ with no real experience as a shinobi, but he was now conscious of the fact that she was as seasoned as he was. Furthermore, what would he do with Sasuke? He’d been training the young man to be the _best_ kind of shinobi until now, but was that a wise thing to do? If Sasuke ever found out about Danzo, would he not become a criminal and use all those abilities against Konoha?

Kakashi slowly approached the training grounds and suddenly felt movement behind him. He unconsciously tensed, but didn’t act upon it because he recognized the chakra signature immediately. He felt on arm sneaking around his neck and a warm breath on the skin of his cheek.

“Hey there, big boy.” Anko said and he could _hear_ the smirk in her voice. Her free hand snuck down his chest and took a firm hold of his hip. “I missed you yesterday.”

“Anko.” Kakashi said and felt a small smile on his lips. Anko softly released him and walked around him in a circle.

“Hey.” She frowned in worry when she came to a stop in front of him. Her observant eyes obviously caught up on his uneasiness, no matter how good he was at hiding it. “You seem… perturbed by something.”

“Oh.” Kakashi quickly forced his body to relax and he pushed all of his thoughts under a mental carpet. He shrugged nonchalantly. “I just had a nightmare last night… it was very realistic.”

“Are they coming back to you?” Anko held his wrist softy, but her eyes were steady as she looked inquisitively into Kakashi’s. She knew that he’d been plagued by nightmares after stepping down from ANBU, but they’d stopped a long time ago.

“It was just this one time. Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.”

“OK. If you’re _scared_ you can always come and snuggle in my bed. You know how good I am when it comes to distracting you.” Anko’s tone was lewd and smug with an almost mocking undertone, but he could read the real concern behind it all. She smirked playfully and caressed the skin behind his ear.

“Ah.” Kakashi shuddered and felt a blush on his cheek. He couldn’t believe what this woman did to him; he felt like a thirteen year old. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Come, let’s find those brats.” Anko said and led the way.

Kakashi followed close behind her and exhaled deeply. Anko always managed to take the weight off his shoulders with her carefree attitude. He could now clearly see that this whole issue would certainly have to be dealt with, but he still had time. He didn’t need to rush things and act impulsively. He had to be careful and think ahead – just like Sakura had been doing, but not take _two_ goddamn years to take action.

“Hey!” Sakura’s voice caught his attention and he looked up.

She had been sitting next to Sasuke on the grass and was now standing up. A toothy grin was displayed on her face as she greeted Anko. When she locked eyes with him, her smiled became smaller and there was a tentative look on her face. She was silently wondering about his approach to her now that he knew everything. Kakashi looked into her eyes and found that… there was no change in the way he felt about her. She still felt like his student, a teenage girl that he’d been training for over a year and someone he actually cared about. The only difference was that he now knew her to be more mature. Kakashi’s lone eye crinkled as a smile stretched on his lips.

“Yo.” He waved.

Sakura’s smile widened and then looked to the side when Sasuke stood up. He nodded once at the jonin and motioned towards the grounds, irritation at their teachers’ tardiness clear in his body language. They all followed and started training as usual.

Kakashi and Anko talked for a bit about what they would do for training that day. They had barely come to a decision when a sudden presence appeared and interrupted them.

“Haruno Sakura.” A masked ANBU spoke looking at her. He then turned his head to look at Sasuke, who was standing not far from her. “Uchiha Sasuke. You’re both being summoned by the Danzo-sama. Report to the Hokage office immediately.”

Sakura forced a smile and nodded at the ANBU. When he received a confirmation from Sasuke too, he left in a flash. Sakura immediately locked eyes with Kakashi, her face hidden from the rest of the group. Her forehead was scrunched up and she was biting her lip, worry written all over her face. Kakashi moved so that Anko wouldn’t see him – her mind was as sharp as her mouth – and reassuringly nodded at Sakura. There was no use in trying to walk around this. It was either go to the Hokage when summoned or become suspicious.

“Come on.” Sasuke said from behind her and Kakashi’s fists tightened when the two started walking away.

Hopefully they would only be summoned for a mission and nothing more. Still, he couldn’t shake the uneasiness from spreading through his gut once again. Anko’s unusual silence did nothing to help him; her sharp instincts and knowledge of Danzo’s ways probably making her feel weary about this whole situation too.

**-x-**

Her life was slowly starting to become more and more complicated. She wished to be back in the days when team 7 was together and they would keep on completing simple D-ranked missions. Where there was no dead Tsunade, no missing pages from Orochimaru’s report and no Danzo as Hokage.

Sakura had already made up her mind about Danzo becoming Hokage; she was certain that he had somehow forced Hiruzen. Not only were the Third’s ideals completely opposite from Danzo’s, but he had already refused to make him Hokage once. Why would he accept now? There was also the subject of his speech. He was most definitely still capable of leading the village, unlike what he had stated. Also, he had mentioned the Will of Fire as the most important trait of a leader, but he had not mentioned it as one of Danzo’s traits. The Third was a wise and smart man and there was no way he would make such a mistake; he had definitely presented Danzo’s appointment as a contradiction on _purpose._ It all meant one thing; Hiruzen had been fully conscious about what he was doing that day, which meant that he’d not been controlled by Danzo’s sharingan. However, what methods could’ve actually coerced Hiruzen into giving in?

Sakura intuitively had the notion that all of that was somehow connected to Tsunade’s death – there had been a written warning about the council on her – and Orochimaru’s report torn page. Was someone trying to warn Tsunade about Danzo plotting against Hiruzen? Had the council been responsible for Tsunade’s death? Had Danzo stolen the intel about Orochimaru’s corpse? If he did, what would he use it for? It somehow felt like the pieces of a puzzle, but Sakura could still not clearly understand how everything was connected.

Apart from that _and_ the nearing war, Sakura realized that there was the issue of Itachi now. She hadn’t fully shown him the images that she needed in order to let him know what she knew. He had broken out of it too soon and the _look_ he’d thrown at her had been unsettling. Did he want to kill her for showing him images about Sasuke? Could he be worried that her innuendo about the truth about his actions was actually a threat? If he attacked her for real, what would she do?

“Sakura.”

“Huh?” Sakura jerked and look at the raven haired teen next to her. “What?”

“I’ve asked you twice already. Are you feeling all right?”

“Yeah.” Sakura forced a smile. “I was just… wondering how you were doing ever since we met your brother. We haven’t had much time to talk anyways.”

“Fine, considering the circumstances.” Sasuke said simply.

“Oh.” Sakura said and looked at her feet. She’d honestly expected him to speak a bit more. Not only was angst building at a fast rate inside of her due to Danzo summoning them, but she was also honestly interested in knowing how he was dealing with that.  A couple seconds passed and Sasuke sighed, seemingly noticing what she had expected.

“I’ve been a bit on edge and my patience is slightly shortened. But no nightmares or anything else.”

“That’s good.” Sakura smiled, truly glad that at least he wasn’t feeling too troubled.

As they walked into the Hokage Tower they became quiet. Sasuke probably due to having nothing else to say and Sakura due to apprehension. Sakura could only hope that Danzo would not be calling her up there because he was suspicious. If she noticed anything, she’d have to try her best to escape, which was not a good option at all. As she watched the office’s door come into view, she forced herself to relax; Kakashi already knew of her time-travel. If anything happened and she had to leave, she could count on him.

_Knock knock._

“Enter.” A deep voice said from inside the room and Sasuke slowly opened the door.

Sakura walked inside after him, forcing herself to stay calm and collected. She positioned herself next to Sasuke and looked up towards the desk. Danzo was sitting there with his elbows propped on the table, his hands crossed in front of his face. His eyes were sharp as he scrutinized the two teenagers in front of him. Sakura felt the urge not to squirm uncomfortably under his stare as she’d suspected, but to _punch_ the jerk square in the face. Oh, _how_ she’d enjoy kicking his ass if she cou-

“I will make this quick, since I can’t be wasting my time. I’ve called the two of you over for different issues.” he spoke seriously and turned to look at Sasuke. “Uchiha Sasuke. You are aware that you’re the last Uchiha who can clear up the Clan’s name in the village and the last person with a fully capable sharingan.”

“Hai.”

“Your training has been under the tutelage of Hatake Kakashi until now, but given how much your abilities are needed I’ve decided that he will no longer be training you.” Danzo’s voice held the steel of a ruthless upper military. “Your training will be supervised by be from now on, so that I can make sure that you can reach you potential.”

Sakura felt Sasuke tense next to her and she cursed. Danzo couldn’t possibly be trying to get his claws on Sasuke, could he? He _hated_ the Uchiha Clan… why not simply send Sasuke off to his death instead of-

“Haruno Sakura.” Sakura jerked up and the sound of her name spoken by Danzo sent shivers down her spine. “It has come to my attention that you are a _medic nin_ that’s said to be a genius.” Sakura felt like lashing out at his belittling tone when he mentioned her profession, but remained calm and nodded. “You also seem to have offered Hiruzen to give some advice about how to improve the healthcare system in Suna.”

“Hai.”

“Good. I’ve decided that the peace treaty with Suna was rushed. I need to be certain about their real intentions regarding this issue, so I will send you as an undercover spy to watch their movements.” Sakura’s arms tensed at his words, but remained still. “You will be going as a delegate to improve their hospital and improve the expertise of the health professionals. I have decided that the mission’s duration is to be 24 months, which should be enough for you to believably improve their system _and_ find out what they’re after.”

“Sir, with all due respect, that amount of time-”

“ _Are you refusing an order, Haruno_?” Danzo raised his voice to interrupt her.

“No, sir.” Sakura lowered her head in submission. She knew how vicious Danzo could be when it came to securing his authority, so she decided to play by his rules.

“ _Good._ ” He spoke slowly, and Sakura _swore_ that there had been a vicious glint in his eye when he mentioned the amount of time she would be spending in Suna. “The risk of your journey to Suna is low enough for you to travel on your own. Pack your stuff, say good-bye to your family and leave as soon as possible.”

“Hai.” Sakura stood straight as she fought the shaking that her anger was threatening to unleash throughout her whole body.

“You’re dismissed. The Uchiha and I need to plan out a schedule.”

“Thank you, sir.” She successfully managed to mask her feelings and bowed lowly. She turned to look at Sasuke briefly and noticed that he was looking straight ahead. He was smart and had probably noticed that he needed to act as a dutiful soldier and not look at her.

Sakura turned around and walked out of the office. She walked down the stairs, turned around the corner and immediately walked into a public bathroom that was inside the Tower. She entered a cubicle and closed the door behind her softly. As soon as she was sure that she was on her own and no one was watching her, she dropped to her knees. Sakura held the closed toilet seat in a death grip as she felt her hands tremble.

_That bastard._

Sakura was not sure if her assumptions were wrong. But just thinking about them made her stomach churn in concern. _Sasuke_. According to her, there was only one probable reason to why Danzo had decided to oversee Sasuke’s training. He wanted to make Sasuke his protégée and teach him his ways. Since it was _Danzo,_ he probably wouldn’t to it out of good-will and concern for the boy. After everything the bastard had done to him, he wanted to _use_ Sasuke for his own goals.

If Danzo wanted Sasuke dead, he could simply send him off to a difficult mission, or use his sharingan to manipulate him into having an accident. And no matter what he did, Itachi would see through his actions and spoil his highlight as Hokage with the truth about the massacre. After all, his only condition for deserting and becoming a criminal was for Sasuke to remain safe in Konoha.

Sakura wondered for a moment if it had been actually a good turn of events for Sasuke to stay in the village. However, she immediately brushed the thought off. If Sasuke were to be a rogue nin, Danzo would certainly send every available ANBU to bring his head back. Sasuke needed to stay in the village, he needed to believe that Itachi had been the one truly responsible for the Uchiha massacre. If he found out… Sakura didn’t even want to think about that.

Then, there was the issue of her long term mission. _Two fucking years._ Sakura wondered if her assumption about Danzo made her see things… but she thought that she’d seen his eyes glinting when he mentioned the length of her mission. It did make sense for him to send her away to Suna because of suspicions about their intentions – she expected him to believe that everyone was as deceptive as he was – but _two_ years was definitely too much. Sakura was sure that six months would be more than enough to do what he asked her to do. Why would he want to send her away for such a long time?

Could it be that he wanted to isolate Sasuke? After all, it wouldn’t be a stretch to state that she was Sasuke’s only friend now that Naruto was gone. If she were to leave, Sasuke would much more easily give in to whatever Danzo was planning. Would Sasuke become cold-hearted once again? Would he shut everyone out and build up his emotional walls once again? Would he become Danzo’s right hand and agree with everything he did?

If she left, not only would she have to miss her precious people – her family, Ino, Sasuke, Kakashi, Anko – but she would _also_ be worried sick about Sasuke. Sakura wanted to stay _so_ badly. She wanted to stay here with her loved ones, she wanted to stay here and make sure Danzo didn’t brainwash Sasuke. However, Sakura knew that it wasn’t an option. If she were to refuse the mission, he would be suspicious and probably have her interrogated. Who knows, maybe he’d even execute her for treason. If she were to tell Sasuke everything and convince him to leave, he would certainly be hunted by the strongest shinobi in the village. If that were to happen he would die, because he didn’t have the protection or Orochimaru this time around. Also, Sakura didn’t want him to become hate-ridden once again.

Sakura felt terrified when she confirmed that her best option was to simply do as Danzo had asked of her. However, she wouldn’t let him have his way. She would do her best to fight whatever he was planning with claws and teeth. With a resolved mind, Sakura wiped down the tears that had been pooling in her eyes and took a deep breath. She walked out of the cubicle, washed her face and left the tower.

Sakura’s feet carried her towards the Yamanaka household. Her pace was steady and quick, so she arrived in less than ten minutes, a plan already formed in her head. She allowed her chakra to spread around her and sensed a faint presence following her. The chakra was almost perfectly hidden so it must’ve been an ANBU… or a root ANBU, which meant that she was being watched. Sakura frowned. Was Danzo already suspicious of her? Or was he simply making sure that she would leave as soon as possible, as he had instructed?

Sakura knocked on Ino’s door and bit her lower lip, praying that her friend was home. To her relief, Ino opened the door and widened her eyes at the sight of her friend.

“Sakura?”

“I’m sorry to come unannounced. It’s important.” Sakura frowned.

“What are you apologizing for? Come in, Forehead.”

Sakura walked into the living room and watched Ino put away some book’s that she’d been reading. The blonde turned to her and put a hand on her hip.

“So, are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“I’m leaving for a long term mission.” Sakura sighed. “For two years.”

“What?! Two years?” Ino gaped. “But… you just made chunin and you’re still fourteen.”

“I know.” Sakura bit her lip. “Danzo-sama expects more of us.”

Ino crossed the room in two long strides and hugged Sakura tightly. Sakura took the chance and whispered into Ino’s ear.

“Ino, we’re being watched. I need us to communicate through our thoughts. Do the jutsu when I tell you to.” At Sakura’s words Ino was frozen for a moment, but soon nodded. Sakura lifted her arms in between them, so that the spy wouldn’t be able to see the seals, and soundproofed the room. “Now.”

“Shindenshin no Jutsu!”

Ino spoke into the pinkette’s shoulder, making sure that it didn’t seem as if she were speaking. Sakura dropped the soundproofing and released Ino with a smile. Ino smiled back and motioned towards the kitchen.

“Come, let us have some tea and sit in the garden for a couple minutes.”

A couple minutes later they were sitting in the outdoor corridor in silence and looking at the ornamental flowers in peace. Or at least that was what it seemed like.

_“What the hell is going on, forehead?”_

_“Ino. First, I need to tell you that I don’t trust Danzo. He seems to me as sneaky, dishonest, and a fascist.”_

_“Hmm. Shikamaru thinks the same.”_

_“Today I was with Sasuke in his office. He sent me on a two-year long mission and decided to be in charge of Sasuke’s training from now on. Not only that, he also sent an ANBU to follow me!”_

_“How can you tell you’re being followed?”_

_“I’ve been working on sensing others with Anko. The thing is, I’m worried about Sasuke. I’m the only friend he has, and all of his family is dead. Kakashi won’t be training with him anymore… he’ll be alone. I don’t trust Danzo. I don’t think he means well.”_

_“And you’re telling me this because you want me to keep an eye on him.”_

_“Not just that… I know it’s a lot to ask. But… try to be friends with him. Don’t let him be alone again. Try to talk to him… maybe he can be friends with Shikamaru and Choji too. Please.”_

_“Sakura. Do you honestly think that he will be all right with that? You know how he is… he’ll probably push us away.”_

_“I know. I know, damn it! But please try. Please. I’ll make sure to keep in touch with him, so you could use knowing about me as an excuse at first.”_

_“All right, all right. Jeez. You worry too much. Besides, you should look after yourself too, you know?_ You’re _the one who’s leaving for two years.”_

“I’ll miss you, Pig.” Sakura said aloud and Ino left her mind.

“I know. I’ll miss you too.”

Sakura stood up and walked with Ino towards the hall. She hugged the blonde tightly and then left towards her house. As she walked down the street, she suddenly saw Kakashi walking towards her. Her eyes locked with his and her face became serious, which immediately notified him that something important had happened.

“Sakura-chan.” He greeted lazily. He was always such a good actor.

“Sensei.” Sakura smiled.

“How was the meeting with Danzo-sama?”

“First of all, he will be in charge of Sasuke’s training from now on.” She sighed. “Also, he’s sending me to Suna on a two-year long mission.”

Kakashi’s eye widened as he turned to look at her with shock. He soon gathered himself and chuckled. “Well, he must hold you in great esteem if he thinks you’re ready for such a mission. And he will probably do a much better job than me training Sasuke.”

Kakashi’s answer was clearly misleading. He was ANBU-level too, so he had probably already noticed the looming presence that was watching over them. They walked together for a little while before he spoke again.

“When are you leaving?”

“I guess in about an hour I’ll be at the gates.”

“I have something to do now. I don’t know if I’ll manage to get to the gates in time. So, if that’s the case.” Kakashi stepped closer and hugged Sakura shortly. He tilted his head and whispered into her ear. “I’ll look after Sasuke. And I’ll try to do something about the Akatsuki too.”

“I’ll miss you too, sensei.” Sakura said as she let go and waved him goodbye.

Akatsuki. Sakura cursed. She’d _completely_ forgotten about them. She’d been so worried about Sasuke and Danzo, that she’d suddenly forgotten everything about her _real_ mission. How was she even supposed to do _anything_ from Suna? How could she try to find Obito or Itachi if she was _trapped_ there?

Sakura cursed her luck, but at the same time was relieved to know that she could at least count on Kakashi. He already knew everything about the Akatsuki, their members, their abilities and weaknesses. He would be able to do something about them. He better, because he was Sakura’s only viable option for now.

**-x-**

Sasuke had always wanted to become stronger. Ever since his clan had been murdered it had been the only think in his mind so that he could kill Itachi. Of course he had known that in order to achieve such a thing he would have to find a strong mentor or teacher. When he became a genin, he would’ve probably trained under anyone with enough power, no matter what impression they gave him. He was willing to become a monster in order to achieve his goal.

But Sasuke was not who he used to be one and a half years ago. He had been put in team 7, and both Sakura and Naruto had changed the way he looked at things..., especially Sakura. The change had been slow but steady. He still wanted to get revenge; it was still his main goal in life, but it was not his only goal. He also wanted to belong to his village, to his team. He wanted to do things in a way that didn’t make him regret his life. He wanted to become strong and kill Itachi without losing himself and without ruining his life.

However, his life had always been a paradox. When he’d started noticing something off about his family, they’d been killed. When he finally became a ninja and had the chance to become much stronger, he was put into team 7 and changed his way of thinking. He’d become closer to Naruto, and he had left. He had become closer to Sakura, and she was leaving now for two whole years. He had finally decided that he wanted to become stronger in a way that was honorable, and then Danzo had decided to train him.

Sasuke would’ve been thrilled to be trained under a Kage. He had to be pretty strong and he also seemed like someone with experience. But it wasn’t the case; he wasn’t glad at all. Sasuke had noticed something off about Sakura the moment they took off towards the Hokage Tower. And when he entered the office he knew why she’d been so nervous.

Shimura Danzo seemed ruthless, corrupt, dishonest, and a tyrant.  The way he held himself and the way he treated others showed with great clarity that he expected absolute loyalty. The way he observed others spoke of how much he looked down on them. However, he didn’t particularly seem like a self-centered selfish person which made Sasuke consider that he might truly want the best for their village. Sasuke wasn’t exactly sure if he agreed with his ways or not – he didn’t have much of an opinion on politics – but he was certain the Sakura didn’t agree with him. He knew her enough to be sure that she was the complete opposite and that she was much more into Hiruzen’s kind of leadership. He could also tell by the way she’d acted around Danzo that she didn’t like him one bit, but thankfully he’d been able to tell only because he knew her well. He hoped that no one else had noticed her antagonistic demeanor during the meeting.

Sasuke was a bit bothered by the fact that Danzo had not asked him if he wanted to be trained by him and had simply commanded him to. Nonetheless, he was much more upset about the way he had treated Sakura. Of course she would feel a bit apprehensive about leaving her home for two years on an _undercover_ mission at the age of _fourteen._ Sasuke would’ve obeyed just like she had, but he definitely would’ve been uncertain about it as well.

As soon as Sakura had left the Hokage’s office, Sasuke had planned a schedule with Danzo – which seemed impossibly difficult to him, which was good for his improvement as a shinobi – and then left. He immediately went home, knowing that when Sakura had time she would find him. He waited for a good thirty minutes in his living room until there was a soft knock on the door. He stood up and walked to the door, opening up without asking because he already knew who it was.

“Sakura.”

“Hey.” She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. Sasuke sighed.

“Come in.” Sasuke led her towards his living room and turned around to face her. She had her travelling pack over her shoulder and she was dressed for a journey. “So… you’re actually leaving.”

“Yeah.” Sakura looked at the ground beneath her feet and slowly placed her backpack on the ground next to the couch. “I already said goodbye to everyone else. I… wanted to see you before I left.”

“I know.” Sasuke nodded, he also wanted to see her before she departed for Suna.

Sakura frowned for a moment and it seemed like she was struggling with something. Sasuke wondered what she wanted to say, but waited patiently. Suddenly, Sakura took a step forward and put her arms around Sasuke’s neck in a tight hug. Sasuke almost choked on his spit at the sudden gesture, his whole body tensing at the unexpected contact.  He was about to ask her about it, but she spoke before he could.

“Sasuke, someone’s tailing me.” She whispered. “Play along.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened for a second, but he immediately recovered and tentatively put his own arms around her. He was forced to fight his unconscious reaction of pulling away before tilting his head towards Sakura’s ear. “What’s going on?”

“Sasuke. I don’t trust Danzo. I don’t think he means well… I…” Sakura gulped and fisted he collar of Sasuke’s shirt.

“What?” he frowned.

“He’s not being truthful, I just know it. He even sent someone to follow me now… he’s spying on his own people, Sasuke.”

“I don’t know…”

“ _Sasuke._ Please be careful. Don’t let him fool you, don’t let him manipulate you. Don’t let his twisted ways get to you. Stay the way you are and don’t turn into what he wants to make you into.” Sakura took a deep breath and the knot in her throat become audibly heavier. She then breathed out shakily and continued speaking into Sasuke’s neck. “Don’t let him know you’re weary of him; he’s smart and sharp. Pretend that you’re all right with whatever he does, but never drop your guard.”

“…” Sakura felt Sasuke’s uneasiness in the way he unconsciously tapped his fingers on her back. She knew that his gesture would’ve normally sent shivers down her spine, but she sadly was in no condition to enjoy it.

“Promise me that you’ll take good care of yourself. Promise me that you’ll try to let other people in. Don’t let him isolate you… don’t-” her voice broke and a couple tears trailed down her cheeks. “Don’t be alone. Let other people in. It will be so much easier for him if you’re on your own. I know it’s not easy for you… but you have to try.”

“Sakura…” Sasuke frowned. He was partly worried about her reaction to everything, because he trusted her instincts and doubted that she was wrong. On the other hand, he was almost… glad to see that someone cared enough about him to have such a powerful emotional reaction. That _Sakura_ actually cared that much about his wellbeing. It seemed selfish to feel good when she was looking so desperate. Sasuke could _feel_ the moisture of her tears on his shoulder and it made the anxious knot in his throat come with a warm feeling in his chest.

“Promise me, _please._ ” Sakura hissed and crushed him into her body.

“I promise.” He said, suddenly filled with determination. Sasuke trusted her. And he was also a bit weary of the Fifth. He would make sure to watch his back around Danzo and mask his suspicions about him.

“Sasuke, if you’re ever in trouble, you can count on Kakashi. If no one’s available, then write to me using the word “ _excellent_ ” and I’ll drop my mission to come and give you a hand.” Sakura finished and he nodded in agreement. Sasuke however knew that he would probably never call out to her for help, because she would be in great trouble if she disobeyed Danzo’s orders.

Sakura slowly released her tight hold on him, and Sasuke was surprised to find that he actually missed her warmth. When was the last time that he had actually been comfortable with physical contact – apart from training – with anyone­­­? Now that he thought about it, why hadn’t he pushed her away when she hugged him? Why was he even hugging her back? He could’ve just allowed her to hug him and kept there still.

Sakura genuinely smiled at him and he couldn’t help but give a small smile back. A couple more seconds passed and Sasuke noticed how she sent fleeting glances behind her. Apparently, whoever was tailing her was there, but Sasuke couldn’t feel a thing. It wasn’t too much of a surprise though; Sakura _was_ one of the best when it came to chakra control. She was even a proficient medic nin at fourteen.  It wasn’t unexpected for her to have better sensing abilities.

“So.” Sakura spoke in a normal tone, but it was still slightly broken due to her previous tears. “Make sure to write regularly. I’ll write to you once a week. Please, let’s not lose contact.”

“Sakura.” Sasuke spoke firmly and looked at her straight in the eye. He saw her eyebrows shoot up in surprise at his tone, but he simply put his hand on her shoulder. He saw her general distraught demeanor and wanted to ease her a bit. “Don’t be reckless. Take good care of yourself. Don’t let your guard down and make sure to not make anyone suspicious. You have to know that this will be dangerous for you.” – _too._

“I know.” The unspoken word was immediately caught by Sakura. She grinned in real happiness.

Sasuke knew that she had caught on to his genuine worry about her, but for some reason he didn’t mind. Maybe he had gotten used to showing more emotion around her or the circumstances didn’t allow him to be self-conscious, it didn’t really matter. His eyes looked into her emerald eyes for what would be the last time in years, and he unexpectedly felt sadness envelop him. After spending so much time together with her, he had truly gotten used to her company. He honestly didn’t want her to leave. But they didn’t have a choice on the matter.

 “I’ll see you in two years. And I’ll write to you as soon as I get there.”

“Aa. Have a safe journey.”

Sakura walked towards the front door and stopped before opening it. As she cast a finale glance at him, he swore that she was crying again, but she quickly turned around and left without another word. The silence in his apartment suddenly became almost unbearable and he bit his lower lip. It had nothing to do with the fact that he lived alone; he had become used to that _years_ ago. It was due to the knowledge that from now on, he would truly be on his own. He had for so long wanted to be alone, to be _left_ alone so that he could focus on training. However, at that moment, the only thing he wanted was to _not_ be on his own. He shook his head. At least he would be living in a familiar place and surrounded by familiar people.

Sasuke’s heart dropped to his stomach at the thought of what _Sakura_ would have to go through in Suna. Undercover missions were pretty risky, and Sasuke gauged that her mission must’ve been at least A-ranked. He cursed Danzo for sending someone like her – though having potential, Sakura was _still_ young – on such a difficult mission. And it was not just difficult… Sakura would have to endure everything on her own. The strain of living a double life, of keeping her emotions and thoughts hidden. The strain of forcing herself to lie to people who she would probably become close to. The hardships that came when bearing everything without anyone to speak to, because she certainly would not have the chance to even _write_ to him about her real mission. And do all of that for _years._

If only Sasuke had known at the moment the _real_ extent of his thoughts.

**-x-**

As the village became barely recognizable in the distance, Sakura forced her eyes to stay on the dirt road ahead to keep her mind clear. Nonetheless, she was still plagued with distressing thoughts.

It was all so damn _fucked up._ Sakura wondered for a moment if her intervention in this time line would make everything even _worse._ Could things be truly worse? Worse than the Ten-Tails practically wiping out humanity?

Would she be able to do something – _anything –_ about the Akatsuki or Obito while stuck in Suna?

Would she even be able to keep herself alive in that place? She cursed the moment that she’d walked in on Hiruzen and Jiraiya’s meeting without an excuse. She cursed herself for coming up with _that_ particular excuse, though she honestly couldn’t have possibly imagined the repercussions.

Was Danzo _aware_ of who she truly was, of what she knew? Was he sending her away so that she wouldn’t stop whatever he was planning? Had he announced his tutoring of Sasuke in front of her as a form of threat or had it just been coincidence?

What would happen with Sasuke while she was away? Would she come home to find the same person that she’d just hugged good-bye? How deep would Danzo get into him? Sasuke _was_ smart, but so was Danzo. And Danzo was ruthless, manipulative, _and_ Hokage.

What would happen to Konoha while she was away? What kind of village would she encounter when she came back? Would she come back to find a slightly more conservative society? Would she come back to a tyranny ruling over terrified inhabitants?

Sakura honestly didn’t have the heart to wonder. Because _every single_ scenario that went through her mind was terrifying.

 

**A/N: OMG OK. I’m betting none of you even imagined this one.**

**I know it’s a big thing. But there are three reasons for this.**

**Frist of all, I can’t honestly write two years’ worth of plot that barely moves forward regarding the Akatsuki and the war.**

**Second, my age is nearing the _third_ decade too fast for me to be writing romance between thirteen year olds, so I _need_ them to grow up a bit. ( _Yes_ , romance is not far anymore.)**

**Lastly, Sasuke needs time to become a person of his own. He also has to become stronger – I know a weak Sasuke could make an interesting plot, but not this time – and some other stuff that I can’t spoil for you right now.**

**I’d love to know your thought on this plot twist.**

**Also, let me know what you thought of the different POVs? Kakashi? Sasuke? Were they OOC? What about Ino and Danzo?**

**I’m especially interested in what you guys think of Sasuke’s thoughts. I don’t know if it may seemed rushed – _god_ I was never sure when he should start figuring that Sakura was important to him – or if it was good.**

**As, always: I love to read your feedback and support!**

**Special thanks to my beta MonochromeAce, who read this chapter real quick. She always manages to put up with my insane writing schedule!**


	26. Back From Suna

** CHAPTER 26 **

The hot water streamed down her shoulders and back, easing away some of the tension that had been building up for the past few days. Deciding that she couldn’t afford to lose more time, Sakura turned the shower off and stepped out of it. She quickly dried herself off and then briefly looked at herself in the mirror.

Sakura’s nose had become a bit longer and her face less round. Her cheekbones were slightly more pronounced and her lips a bit fuller. Her eyes were still large, but smaller in relation to the size of her whole face. Her features had come to resemble those of her previous self so much, that it sometimes caught Sakura off guard and made her frown in discomfort. Some days, Sakura would feel as if this body belonged to the person she had once been; someone living in the middle of war against the Juubi, someone running away from madness and destruction. The uncanny resemblance to her past self had become quite bothersome, so Sakura had decided to allow her hair to grow. The front of her face now was framed by short bangs, while behind her forehead protector her hair reached mid-back and was currently tied up in a high bun. The change to her hair had definitely helped her feel different from her past self – and from all the memories that came with it – and put her mind a bit more at ease.

When she finally finished fixing her hair, she walked into the bedroom. She put on a red longs-sleeved shirt and black shorts and then sat down on the bed she’d been using for the past two years. Her eyes trailed along all the things that she’d been collecting and using for that period and unconsciously stopped at the small table that was on the opposite side of the room.  A smile tugged at one side of her lips and she stood up and walked closer to it.

The table was small, but there were countless letters scattered on its surface. She had become increasingly more nervous about her return to Konoha and had had the irrational need to read Sasuke’s letters again. Sakura had planned to read them last night, but she’d come back to her room late and tired and had fallen asleep not even remembering her original intentions. Her right hand trailed the edge of one letter and then picked it up.

_Sakura,_

_It’s good to know that the hospital has improved after all this time. It must be a good feeling to see all that hard work actually being useful. On my side, I’ve been feeling a bit stuck. The first year Danzo’s training was harsh to the point that I felt like giving up at the end of most days. And it all helped me improve my battle abilities vastly. However, this past month Danzo’s been adamant on teaching me about politics and spying. Even though I must say that it’s interesting, I feel like I’m wasting so much time on it. I only seldom squeeze in an hour or two to train with other people anymore. I have decided to accept whatever he throws at me though; he said that it would only be for a couple of months and it’s not like I have a say in the matter anyways._

_Your parents have been insisting that I go and have dinner with them – is that your doing? – so I ended up agreeing on going over tomorrow. I hope it won’t be too awkward; if neither Naruto or you are there I fear I’ll be the subject of your father’s teasing._

_I hope things continue to go as they have with your mission._

_Sasuke._

Her eyes looked down at the table as she laid the paper down and picked another one. It was one of the last letter’s she’d received from him. Her eyes softened as she read through the words.

_Sakura,_

_Yesterday I finally found some time for myself. I was wondering if Shikamaru was around for a game of shoji, but he turned out to be out on a mission. I didn’t feel like looking for Ino or Choji, because as I’ve told you they test my patience whenever Shikamaru isn’t around. I swear that the two of them act like an old married couple sometimes. Anyways, I ended up deciding to train on my own for a change and so that I would make some good use of my time. I somehow found myself at training ground 7, a place I hadn’t been in since you left._

_I didn’t expect to remember so many things from when we were still a team. I remembered that time when Naruto and I had to prove our team-work to Kakashi and you. We were so awful at the time that now it seems even funny. Looking back on it, I think it was mostly my fault that things started off badly with Naruto. However, I don’t regret any of it; it’s the highlight of my day when I get to tick the dobe off._

_I also recalled the day that you told me about your suspicions about Kakashi and Anko and then realized that I hadn’t told you about_ it _. A couple weeks ago I was walking towards training early in the morning and I passed by Kakashi’s house. Can you guess who was jumping out the window? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Anko so flustered. I do understand why they’re keeping their thing a secret with the way people talk, but I don’t think that they should make it such a big deal. Honestly, I assume they’ve been together for two years? One would think that they’d go public about it after such a long time. Then again, there may be another reason for them keeping their relationship a secret._

_Anyways, I thought it would be a fun fact to know that you’ve been right about them all this time. Are you looking forward to coming back home? Don’t you think you’ll miss Suna? I hope you’re doing all right,_

_Sasuke._

Sakura once again smiled at the mental picture of Anko’s shocked face after jumping out of Kakashi’s window at dawn. If it’d been Sakura the one to see her, Anko would’ve probably told her that she’d had a great time in bed and even what position she’d enjoyed the most. She was bold and shameless like that – not that Sakura minded. Sakura’s free hand picked another letter up and placed it on top of the previous one.

_Sakura,_

_I’m glad you’re fine. I’m fine too. Danzo’s training is difficult, which is good. Ino’s being a pain in the ass and I wonder if she picked up that crush once more now that you left. I have to find another training partner now, but I definitely wouldn’t want it to be Ino_ _so I’ll have to keep looking. I hope you’re not having trouble while settling down in Suna._

_Sasuke._

Sakura’s eyes widened at the now apparent differences between the last two letters. She’d never really had the chance to take notice of such a thing before, because she had always read one letter at the most due to how little time she spent in her room. She did know that Sasuke had opened up since he decided to speak to team 10 – mostly Shikamaru though – and that he’d even taken on a hobby or two apart from training. However _,_ she’d never taken the time to notice how much the way he _wrote_ to her had changed.

Her hands hastily picked up one letter after the other, her eyes quickly going through some one the paragraphs that she’d already read. Her realization was only confirmed. Sasuke had begun writing to her in a manner that was distant and practical, only speaking about training and what bothered him. However, he had slowly started speaking about feelings and thoughts and his letters had become lengthier. If such an apparent change had happened in the way he wrote correspondence, then what kind of changes should she expect to see when she met him in person? On one hand, it was surprising that Sasuke had actually started communicating more as time passed by, but on the other hand it wasn’t. After all, if they weren’t sharing actual _time_ together, the only way to keep their friendship was through writing and it wouldn’t make much sense for her to be the only one to actually say something.

Sakura slowly gathered all of Sasuke’s replies and put them away in a folder. She then occupied herself with putting all of her important items into her travelling pack. Her mind once again drifted off to the subject of Sasuke. Sakura had been sure that there was something off about Danzo and the way he still hadn’t done anything against Sasuke. Either Sasuke had been brainwashed into believing everything Danzo fed him, or he had become a great liar that not even Danzo doubted. Because, if Sasuke was still all right and training in Konoha, then it had to be because Danzo deemed him useful for whatever he was planning in the village. Then again, maybe things were awful and Sasuke didn’t want to use the code word to alert her – because he certainly wouldn’t tell her about any difficult situations because their letters were most likely being scanned by root ANBU. Even worse, maybe Sasuke was dead and he wasn’t even the one she’d been writing to, but that was a stretch and she honestly didn’t even want to consider that scenario.

On that subject, Sakura had long ago decided that she would _need_ to clear her suspicions about Danzo sometime, because she was almost certain that he’d had something to do with Tsunade’s death. The letter on her that read _‘The council is on the move. Watch out for Hiruzen’._ The fact that the medical page of Orochimaru’s report had been torn by someone with access to restricted areas in the Hokage Tower. Her certainty that Hiruzen had been forced to appoint Danzo as Hokage. It all couldn’t be a coincidence and Sakura actually believed that it’d all been part of a twisted plot of his. It was her duty – no, she felt the imperative _need_ to find out the truth sometime. If Danzo was responsible for her shishou’s death and had illegitimately become Hokage in her stead, she would make sure to make him _pay dearly._

Sakura finished sweeping the floor and then looked around to see the place completely devoid of anything that remotely notified that someone had been using the room. Her travel pack was already closed and the remaining stuff she wouldn’t be taking was in a big disposable bag at one corner of the room. Now that she’d taken everything, the room was naked and its rustic style was much clearer. On the roof there were timber logs to support and earthen ceiling and the floor under her feet was also made from dry clay. Even the plaster was made of earth, which was something that Sakura had arrived _hating_ but learned to cherish. It was definitely not her home, but it was definitely a homey environment.

Sakura picked up her pack, walked out the door and closed the door behind her one final time. She walked towards the hospital, which was only two blocks away from where she’d been living. She instinctively moved out of the way for pedestrians and greeted those that she knew. She soon entered the hospital and expertly entered the hallway, greeting _everyone_ that worked there. It sometimes was tiring to know so many people, but Sakura valued how grateful they were and wouldn’t dream of being rude towards them. However, seeing as she was about to leave, every greeting was met with a smile and honest happiness building inside of her. She finally arrived at the basement – a place she’d spent countless hours _studying_ in – and knocked on an office door.

“Come in.”

Sakura opened the door in a rush and walked into the office with a toothy beam on her face. Her eyes glinted as she met eyes with the old woman that had been teaching her ever since she arrived. “Chiyo-chan.”

“Ahhh, Sakura!” she smiled widely back and stood up from her sitting position. “So, the day has finally come, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m a bit sad though.” Sakura admitted.

“Ah, don’t say that. You’ll get to see your friends and your family again.” She said and then raised her eyebrows suggestively. “And also, that boy you’ve been writing to ever since you got here – Sasuke. You can’t tell me you’re not excited about seeing _him._ ”

“Well, yeah.” Sakura blushed a bit and sheepishly smiled. “Though I’m still a bit nervous… I haven’t seen him in so long. I have the feeling that he might’ve changed. I honestly don’t know what to expect now.”

“If you don’t want to feel disappointed, then don’t –”

“Don’t expect anything, I know.” Sakura said simultaneously. After a couple seconds of silence Sakura sighed. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.” Chiyo nodded in agreement and when their eyes met again Chiyo’s had softened. “I must say that the experience I had with you was something I never expected to have. I had always thought that one was either a teacher or a student… however this dynamic that we established of co-learning and co-teaching has been eye opening for me. Even at _my_ age _._ You’ve been one of the best teachers I’ve had and you’ve definitely been the best student I’ve had. I was honored with our time.”

Sakura felt tears build in her eyes and in the blink of an eye she was tightly hugging the older woman. She took a deep breath in, her elderly scent filling her with a sense of quiet and wisdom as always. “I feel the same, I truly do.”

“I would wish you good luck.” Chiyo said as she pulled back. “But knowing that you’re a smart, incredibly talented, hardworking and good-natured person, I’m certain that you won’t need any _luck_. Though I should _demand_ that you find some happiness for yourself, because I _also_ know that _you_ are always your last priority.”

Sakura laughed kindly and then held her friends forearm softly. “Thanks. I hope that you stay like you are, Chiyo-chan. You don’t need to fix all those flaws like I do. I’ll come and visit sometime, I _swear._ It’ll be great to see how much the hospital will have improved with your help.”

“All right, all right. Get going now. You don’t want to end up leaving at noon.”

“I’ll see you around!” Sakura waved at Chiyo and then walked back towards the street level.

Sakura had added a truly important asset to her skills with Chiyo; she’d become a poison specialist and had refined her own knowledge on antidotes and medical drugs. Apart from that, Chiyo had brought up the subject of summons and Sakura had realized that she’d never even thought about it. After reading a bit on summoning, she found that blood contracts were not supposed to be affected by time or space. So, in theory, her summoning contract with the slugs would still be intact. Sakura had been thrilled to find out that they indeed were. It didn’t only mean that she had a useful summoning technique, but also that she had something from Tsunade in this life as well.

Sakura had quickly left the hospital before anyone else tried to start a conversation with her and walked towards the Kazekage tower for a final stop. Her feet moved quickly so that she wouldn’t risk having to spend the night out in the desert and arrived at the fifth floor in no time.

“Sakura-chan!” a woman’s voce stopped her and she turned around to see Temari walking towards her. “You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah. The day has finally arrived, huh?”

“Well, you’ve been complaining about it all this time, so you better not change your mind _now._ ” Temari patted Sakura’s back enthusiastically and she almost stumbled forward. “I may come visit Konoha sometime. You tell Shikamaru that he better expect to get his ass kicked now that I’m chunin too. The last time I saw him he found a way to evade our encounter until I had to leave!”

“I will.” Sakura chuckled. “You know, I still think that a more classic approach would be better to get under his skin.”

“And _why_ the hell would I take a classic approach when I’m not a classic girl? It would be like a false advertising about myself, because I wouldn’t want to hide _this_ amazing personality for too long.” Temari finished and laughed loudly.

“I guess you’re right. It’s better to always be yourself, right?” Sakura agreed.

“Good luck to you too. You know who I’m talking about.”

“What’s gotten into everyone’s mind today that they’re all talking about Sasuke?!”

“Who said anything about Sasuke?” Temari raised an eyebrow and Sakura almost choked on her spit. “Just kidding! I’ve known ever since you three escorted us back home after the invasion. It was written all over your face for fuck’s sake!”

“Whatever.” Sakura mumbled with a soft blush on her cheeks. She honestly wasn’t too comfortable with being open about Sasuke, because she still felt like a _twenty-two_ year old woman fancying a sixteen year old boy. And that was certainly a bit unsettling, even if her body was that of a teenager too.

“Write to me sometime, will ya?” Temari gave Sakura a quick hug and then stepped back again.

“Ok. See you around!” Sakura waved and then resumed her way towards the Kazekage office.

She was soon in front of his door and knocking. When she was finally allowed to enter, she bit her lower lip. This was definitely going to be the most difficult person to say good-bye to. Her eyes met Gaara’s sky blue eyes and she felt a small smile tug at her lips.

“Hey.” She said softly.

“Hey.” He replied and motioned at the chair for her to take a seat. Sakura did as he said and then the silence stretched for a bit until Gaara chuckled. “I would be able to perceive your conflicted feelings even with my eyes closed.”

“Oh, shut up.” Sakura smiled. “You would’ve been able to know how conflicted I was without even meeting me.”

“True.”

“On the other hand, you don’t seem conflicted at all.” Sakura pointed out.

“I’m _mourning_.” Gaara smirked a bit and reclined back on his seat. His smile soon faded and he frowned a bit. “I will in fact miss you.”

“I know.”

“Not just our training sessions – it will be hard to find someone that can keep up – but also our conversations. People in here are either afraid of me or respect me too much to disagree about _anything._ I honestly think it’ll soon get on my nerves after you leave.”

“Well, not everyone can get a piece of me.” Sakura shrugged. “Besides, you have to learn to live without me too, you know? It’s not healthy if you depend on me as if –”

“You’re on your cloud once again.” Gaara’s soft voice spoke as he rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched in a half contained smile.

“Anyways, you’ll have to find someone – which you will – because it’ll probably be a long time before I come back here. You know how much I miss Konoha.”

“Aa. I have to thank you though; you did wonders with our health system. You barely asked for more funding and everything works so much better.”

“I told you, it was all a matter of efficiency, organization and qualification. Not about infrastructure or the quantity of the health professionals.”

“I can still be surprised, can’t I?”

“I guess.” Sakura smiled. She looked at the clock and frowned. “I really need to get going.”

Gaara nodded. “It’s almost 9 am. You’ll have to hurry to get out of the desert before sunset.”

“I’ll take my leave now.” Sakura stood up, which was mirrored by Gaara. Sakura hugged him tightly for a couple seconds and then turned around to leave. However, she stopped at the door of his office and frowned. She turned around to look at him for another second. “Gaara. You know what they’re saying, right? That the Akatsuki is after the tailed beasts. Just… be careful. Don’t let your guard down, not even inside of the village. You have an ability to oversee everything… use it.”

Gaara’s eyes widened a bit. Sakura had never openly shown any concern for him – not that he thought he needed it – and it slightly took him by surprise. Her words about the Akatsuki seemed thoughtless at first, but there was a glint in her eye that made him reconsider it to be a warning. Gaara finally nodded and Sakura waved one last time before closing the door behind her.

Sakura bit her lip as her feet carried her towards the gates of Suna. She had hoped that the Akatsuki would come after Gaara while she was there, but they hadn’t. If her guess was right, they would abduct him in a couple months maybe. At the last moment before she left Suna, she’d wanted to tell him _everything_ she knew about his abduction, but she couldn’t.

Sakura had long ago decided that she couldn’t tell Gaara anything. She trusted him as much as she trusted Naruto, but she also knew that he had an incorruptible commitment to his village. If she told him about the Akatuski and all the knowledge she had, if she told him about her time travel… he would _know_ that Danzo had no idea about any of it – he would not have sent someone like her on a mission to improve a foreign hospital otherwise. What kind of explanation would she have for telling _him_ about it but not her own Kage? If he were to know that Danzo was unreliable and corrupt, negotiations between Suna and Konoha would be damned for sure. The second option was for Gaara to conclude that Danzo was working _with_ the Akatsuki, which was far worse. The Kazekage was a good person, but he was smart and careful and he would definitely not take a risk in trusting someone – well, untrustworthy.

It had been a difficult decision and it had plagued Sakura for _weeks_ when she arrived. But she couldn’t risk raising any suspicions on Gaara’s side, because he would definitely throw the peace treaty out the window. So, first of all, Sakura had decided to help at the hospital and do _no_ research whatsoever regarding her real mission. Sakura had been Tsunade’s apprentice _and_ had known Gaara in her past life, so she knew quite a lot about Suna’s inner and outer politics. She was certain that she had enough knowledge to write an extensive and believable report about how Suna was not suspicious at all.

Besides, she didn’t want to risk the relation between Suna and Konoha. Knowing how paranoid Danzo could get – the Uchiha massacre was a clear indication of that – he might make a stupid decision and fuck the future Alliance even further. Of course, Sakura intended for that Alliance not to be _ever_ needed in the first place, and that was her other concern.

 _That_ had been the other decision and the toughest one. While being in Suna, Sakura had decided that she only had three options. The first was to go out to find the Akatsuki and ditch her mission, with all the consequences that it implied. The second option was to try to do something from _within_ Suna, which carried a high risk of being exposed and little chance of actually getting anything done. And the third one was… simply stay in Suna and _wait_.

The third option made her bones chill in fear; she didn’t want to _wait_ any longer. However, she knew that it was only impatience which was pushing her to act right away. Sakura was certain that with Kakashi’s help she would be able to do much more after going back to Konoha. She might even be able to find someone else to help out. Doing everything on her own from _Suna_ of all places – an environment she wasn’t too used to – carried a much higher risk.

Also, Sakura had made some mental calculations and had decided that the war would roughly start in a year and a half, so she still had that amount of time do to something about it. It was plenty of time, it would have to be enough for her to do everything in secret from Konoha. If things went badly and she found herself stuck… then she would have to risk everything and tell everyone – including Danzo – the truth about herself.

**-x-**

If there was one thing Sakura had missed since she arrived in Suna – apart from her close people – it was the _green_. Damn. Suna barely had some succulent plants and some cacti, but it was definitely not the lush green of Konoha’s trees. Ever since the scenery had changed, Sakura couldn’t help but take in deep breath and enjoy the air humidity along with the clear scent of wet soil. It was something she had always liked, but had never guessed she would miss so much. It smelled like home.

As the gates of Konoha appeared in front of her, Sakura felt her heart beat faster. She was _ecstasic_ and scared at the same time. The imminent meeting of the ones she held dear and the looming finding of what had become of Konoha were making her anxious. As she got to the main gates, she felt the unmistakable presence of Shikamaru at the guarding post. She smiled and looked up, waving cheerily.

“Sakura, huh?” his lazy voice spoke from the inside. “I can’t believe two years passed already.”

“Hey. I have a message from Temari.”

“ _Ugh._ That woman.” Shikamaru groaned, but Sakura saw the way he curiously glanced at her. He obviously wanted to know about the blond kunoichi.

“Oh, if you don’t want to hear it it’s all right.” Sakura shrugged.

“Nah, just tell me. She’ll give me an earful if I don’t listen to her message.”

Sakura smirked and felt like teasing him a bit more. “Maybe some other time, I’m pretty tired right now.”

As she walked into the village she heard Shikamaru’s faint complaints about ‘why even bring it up if she won’t say a thing’. However, Sakura’s mind immediately started assessing her surroundings. It was past sunset and most people were home by now, but there was a faint difference in the way that people behaved. It was only slight, but Sakura saw the way they sometimes looked over their shoulder or how their body was generally tenser than what would’ve been expected. It was not much, but Sakura was certain by that alone that something had changed. And it had not only affected shinobi, but civilians as well.  Apart from that, her war-sharpened sensing abilities allowed her to locate several ANBU level shinobi in town, which were hidden and watching everything intently.

Things certainly didn’t seem like they were before she left. But Sakura had to admit that she’d expected worse from Danzo. She had honestly believed that she would come back in the middle of a curfew and to find out that there were countless political prisoners. Then again, Sakura had _just_ gotten there and there still might be a lot she didn’t know.

Sakura wanted to go see her parents _so badly_ , but she knew that shinobi were always expected to immediately report to the Hokage after a mission. Sakura walked down the streets and soon was in front of the Hokage Tower. She frowned upon seeing a regular chunin guarding the entrance instead of an ANBU, who turned to look at her as she stopped in front of the main doors.

“State your business.”

“I need to report to Danzo-sama.”

“But why are you _here_?” he squinted his eyes.

“I-eh… Is he not here?” Sakura’s frown deepened. “I was on a two year mission and just came back.”

“ _Oh._ ” His eyes slightly widened and he nodded in understanding. “Danzo-sama’s office is no longer located here. You can find him in the old bunker next to the Hokage Mountain from now on.”

“All right, thank you.” Sakura smiled politely and then turned around to leave.

So, Danzo had actually moved back to root’s quarters. It was most definitely not unexpected, but it still irked her a bit. She did feel like it was a bit disrespectful towards the previous Hokages, given that the tower had been a monumental and iconic building since the founding of the village.  Five minutes later, she was only a couple meters away from the entrance – where two ANBU stood in guard – when someone walked out of the door and stopped in front of her. Raven hair, obsidian eyes, pale skin; it was Sasuke.

Sakura’s heartbeat became almost erratic as her eyes took in his appearance. His jaw was now broader, his face was slightly thinner and he now was taller than she was. He was wearing plain black ninja pants and a thick dark blue jacket. His hair was the same that she’d last seen it, but somehow shorter and less spiky. His dark eyes shone now with something that seemed serene, almost wise – the barely contained rage from her past life not visible anymore – and his body posture was relaxed. He looked damned _beautiful_. It was not just that he was handsome – because he somehow managed to look better each time she looked at him – but it was also due to the fact that it was _him_ along with all the feelings that he provoked in her. Especially since she was painfully aware of how his whole attention was directed towards her. His eyes scanned her face and form with interest and he finally looked back into her eyes with a small smirk.

“Sakura.” His voice was much deeper than she remembered, and it admittedly reminded her of the Sasuke in her previous life. However, it held an edge to it that, while still intense, seemed kinder at the same time. It honestly made shivers go down her spine.

“Sasuke.” Sakura smiled at him. She wanted to hug him right there and then, but thought it would be weird considering that it was Sasuke and that there were two ANBU standing right beside them and observing their every move.

“You’re here to see Danzo-sama?” he asked and Sakura nodded. “Come, I’ll lead the way.”

Sakura followed suit and forced her eyes to stay away from his broad shoulders. She scanned the different people inside, the closed doors and the various hallways. It was probably futile to try and make a mental blueprint of the place or try to figure how the security worked, but she needed to at least try to make something of what she saw. She could never be too careful when it came to that man.

Sasuke led her two stories below ground and they soon arrived at a room with double iron hinged doors. He knocked on the door and they were immediately allowed inside.

“I thought you’d already left, Sasuke.” Danzo spoke from behind a desk on the far end of the room. At least, that’s what Sakura _assumed_ , because she honestly didn’t see a thing with the dim lighting. The place truly looked like one of Orochimaru’s lairs – like a place straight out of a horror novel – and she wondered if there was a reason why Sasuke always ended up training with a creepy character.

“I found Haruno Sakura at the entrance and led the way for her.” Sasuke spoke slowly and his voice radiated confidence and boldness, something Sakura never thought anyone would have in the presence of that man. She dared turn her head to look at Sasuke and was surprised to see that he seemed not at all anxious or scared of Danzo. He truly seemed like any student in the presence of their mentor.

“Oh?” Danzo’s voice echoed in the room and Sakura saw his figure rise from his seat. “Haruno, approach.”

Sakura gulped and walked closer to him, her footsteps making far too much noise for her liking. She finally stopped a meter away from his desk and slightly bowed. “Danzo-sama.”

“Briefly inform me if you found anything in Suna.”

“There’s nothing suspicious about them, Hokage-sama.” Sakura spoke, her eyes trained on the ground under her feet while her head was slightly bowed in a polite manner.

“I’m assuming that you did a thorough investigation if you came to that conclusion with such certainty.” Danzo stated. “I expect an exhaustive report on what happened during the past two years. Everything you learned, heard or saw that might be of interest to our village must be written down. It is to be handed personally to _me._ ”

“Hai.”

“Also, as is custom for shinobi who just returned from long term missions, you will have two weeks off. You are expected to replenish your energies, so you’re not allowed to do any kind of work. Not as a shinobi, not as a medic.”

“Thank you, Danzo-sama.”

“You’re dismissed.” He waved her off and sat back down.

Sakura walked back to the doors of the office and saw Sasuke nodding once in farewell too. He opened the doors for the both of them and walked with her out of the office. Sakura didn’t feel the knot on her throat dissipate until they were out on the streets once again. When she felt the cool night air on her skin again, she exhaled deeply and looked up at Sasuke to see that he was still walking. He seemed to notice her reluctance and looked at her from behind his shoulder.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked, honest curiosity shining in his eyes.

“I- uh.” Sakura caught up to him and they resumed their way. “Where are we going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but Sakura remained quiet and he sighed. “I’m walking you home.”

“Oh.” Sakura said quickly and cursed the warm feeling that built on her cheeks.

As she started walking next to him, she felt her thoughts drift back to the moment she’d seen him interact with Danzo. Sasuke had always been smart and that he was certainly capable of masking his thoughts and emotions. It _did_ appear like he was truly satisfied with being Danzo’s student, and it also seemed like Danzo believed it to be true. Danzo and Sasuke had managed to put up a truly believable act. However… was it really an act?

Sakura felt slightly uneasy at the thought that she’d just entertained. If Sasuke truly was a good pretender… then what if he was pretending with her too? Had Danzo washed his brain and he was now pretending with her? Or even worse, what if Sasuke had consciously decided to change his mind about Danzo and taken his side? Would Sasuke be watching over her and inform Danzo of any moves she made against him? Had he been truly keeping in touch with her because she’d asked him and he wanted to? Had Sasuke been writing to her because she didn’t trust Danzo? Should she trust Sasuke at this point?

Sakura looked up and noticed that Sasuke was eyeing her curiously. She pushed her thoughts away and spoke up without thinking about the words. “What?”

“You’re quiet.”

“I-” Sakura swallowed nervously and looked at the ground in front of her. “I was just thinking.”

“Did you run into any trouble on your way back?” Sasuke looked at her from the edge of his eye, his face still facing to the front.

“Not at all.” Sakura smiled reassuringly, but she still felt uneasy around him. However, she obviously didn’t want him to _know_ that she doubted him, so she tried her best to keep a straight face. “It was _hot,_ and cold. And windy. But thankfully I’m home now. I’ve really come to be grateful for the climate we have in Konoha.”

“Naruto visited you a couple months ago.” Sasuke stated after a few moments silence and she nodded in confirmation. “How is he doing? That idiot must be having a hard time writing anything more than his name, because I’ve barely heard from him.”

“He was good. He’s become strong… and he’s grown so much. He now is almost as tall as you are.” Sakura smiled and turned to look at Sasuke knowingly. It was obvious that Sasuke had expected Naruto to write to him and felt a slightly frustrated the he hadn’t. “He hasn’t written to you because he’s like every man; too embarrassed to show that he cares about another man. But I _know_ that he cares because he asked about you a lot.”

“It’s not like I was _upset_ about it or anything.” Sasuke mumbled and averted his eyes for a second.

“ _Ohh,_ you were just curious.”

“Yeah. Just curious.”

Sakura laughed at his denial – which was clear as day for the both of them – and turned her face to fully look at him. To her surprise, there was a small smile in his lips and she swore he let out a barely audible chuckle. The way his features light up when he smiled – _even_ when it was small – and how his eyes softened made her feel warm inside. She didn’t _know_ if Sasuke was on her side or not… but the fact the he was able to look genuinely animated made her happy.

“What about you? I can imagine that you’ve become stronger too.” Sakura said, trying to keep her feelings at bay. “Danzo doesn’t seem like someone to take training easy.”

Sasuke snorted. “That’s an understatement. At least it’s been truly worth the effort.”

“Good.”

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t have a teacher, do you?”

“Not really. But I trained with Gaara every day and studied with an older woman that’s _the_ top expert in poisons.”

“Studied _with_?”

“Yeah. I taught her medical ninjutsu and she taught me about poisons.”

“So _you’re_ teaching now?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smirked teasingly. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah. I’m just that good.” Sakura grinned. “I’m stronger too.”

“Hmm.” Sasuke hummed, clearly disbelieving her statement. Sakura thankfully didn’t take things personally anymore.

“Maybe we should spar someday.”

“You’ll to get your ass kicked.” Sasuke smirked smugly.

“I’ll wipe that smug smirk off your face.” Sakura retorted, but there was a soft smile on her lips.

Sasuke looked ahead once again and Sakura mirrored his actions. She realized they’d already gotten to her place and frowned at the prospect of Sasuke leaving already.

“You don’t want to come in?”

“No.” Sasuke simply said, but after a moment and seeing Sakura biting on her lower lip he added. “It would not be polite to ruin the moment.”

“But you’ve come like a dozen times for dinner - _don’t_ think my father didn’t write to me about it – and I know they wouldn’t mind at all.”

“ _They’ve_ insisted to a point that’s left me no other choice. Just like _Ino_.”

“Whatever you say, Sasuke.” Sakura giggled and heard Sasuke grunt as she moved closer to her front door. “So, sparring tomorrow?”

“8 pm.” Sasuke said and Sakura nodded in agreement, knowing that Sasuke probably had the rest of the day full.

Sakura knocked on her door and heard Sasuke’s footsteps move away from her house.

Sakura was still indecisive about trusting Sasuke. It made her feel a bit guilty about it, but she didn’t want to risk anything that might put either of them in danger. Either way, that fact didn’t prevent Sakura from enjoying Sasuke’s presence and wanting to spend time with him. In fact, in order to make up her mind she would _have_ to spend some time with him. And she was most definitely looking forward to that.  

 

**A/N: Here it is. This is a transition chapter and nothing _too_ important happened. However, I’d like to know what you guys think of what you found out about Sakura’s time in Suna.**

**What about Konoha? Do you think there’s more going on or it’s just Sakura being paranoid?**

**Do you think Danzo trusts Sasuke? Or is he suspicious of Sasuke? Of Sakura?**

**What do you think about Sakura having doubts when it comes to trusting Sasuke the way she used to? Do you think this will have consequences?**

**I’d like to give a special thanks to my beta MonochromeAce for checking out the chapter in like a couple hours!!**

**I also want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing! It’s always so encouraging to hear out what your thoughts are.**


	27. Issues

** CHAPTER 27 **

“Raiko Kenka!” Sasuke’s shout reached Sakura’s ears just as she was turning around to face him once again.

A barricade of weapons was summoned from his forearms and shot at Sakura. She immediately moved away and avoided getting injured. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke’s index twitch and she widened her eyes. She ducked just in time for half of his weapons to shoot back and pass above her head. Sakura knew that the weapons would come her way anytime again, but simply smirked and raised her own fingers.

“Chakura no Ito!” she felt her chakra stretch in the blink of an eye and form a thread from her fingertips. As soon as it was attached to Sasuke’s weapons she pulled.

Sasuke’s eyes widened as he jumped back a couple meters. _Chakra threads!_ Sasuke’s three-tomoed sharingan moved rapidly as he read to movements of the weaponry that was now being thrown back at him. He was forced to move out of the way a dozen times before he found an opening to actually make hand signs.

“Fūton: Shinkūha!” Sasuke took a deep breath in and then exhaled.

The weapons were caught in the strong gush of wind and Sakura released the chakra threads, since it would use too much chakra trying to keep them in place. The air had flown at such a high pressure, that the dust on the ground had risen and formed a thick dust cloud.

Sakura lowered her stance. Sasuke’s sharingan was fully developed by now, so he could see her even through the dust. However, Sakura was a good sensor, so she closed her eyes and felt her surroundings. She immediately spotted Sasuke’s presence, but he seemed to have noticed that she was trying to sense him, because when she did he was already on the move. Sakura sidestepped in the nick of time, _barely_ dodging the blade that Sasuke had aimed at her neck. She took out her kunai and frowned.

“What the hell, Sasuke! You could’ve killed me.”

Sasuke simply smirked. Sakura didn’t know if he agreed with her, if he had confidence in her reflexes or if he had confidence in his _own_ ability to stop. It was probably the latter. Sasuke aimed a slash at her and she pushed chakra through her body to increase her speed as much as she could. She ducked then moved forwards and up to meet his blade with her kunai. Both pushed with all their might, but neither backed down. Sakura locked eyes with Sasuke and he smirked again.

Sakura sent chakra to the arm that was holding the kunai and moved a hand back. The lone hand started making hand signs and Sasuke cursed audibly before jumping back again. Sakura did the last one right after Sasuke moved and a swirl of water was casted from her index.

“Suiton: Suiten Hōfutsu!”

Sasuke was almost caught in it, but moved out of its way at the last moment. Thankfully because Sakura would’ve had to heal him otherwise, given how strong that jutsu was. He managed to stay on his feet, but ended up getting half his clothes wet from the resulting spray of water. As soon as he regained his balance, Sakura was on him with a raised chakra fist. His sharingan must’ve seen that it had an unusual amount of chakra because he hastily moved out of its way. Sakura quickly started sending punches and kicks, her chakra flowing through her limbs enhancing her speed and her strength. Sasuke’s eyes saw her every move and he dodged or deflected her attacks. He must’ve known that the moment he blocked he would be down for the count.

He finally found an opening and began a series of taijutsu attacks at her. Sakura blocked them skillfully – but just barely – until the both of them jumped back. Sasuke’s voice echoed around her and she jerked up in surprise.

“Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!”

Sakura barely escaped the huge amount of flames that had been sent her way, her eyes wide in disbelief. She honestly had never expected Sasuke to use this jutsu at this time, since its destructive force was too great. Then again, she’d been the first to use an A-rank jutsu on him. Sakura landed on a different side of the clearing and eyed Sasuke.

She was panting heavily because this time she’d had to go full out against Sasuke, but he seemed just as tired as she did. She didn’t know if she should be more surprised about her own ability because she was fighting on equal level with _Sasuke_ , or _his_ ability to stand up to a twenty-two year old kunoichi that had been through a war. Nonetheless, it was honestly thrilling to spar with someone to this level, an experience that she’d so far only achieved with Gaara in this lifetime.

“I think it’s about time we stop.” Sakura raised her hands. “Things are escalating too much.”

“Aa.” Sasuke nodded and moved to the spot where he’d left a bottle of water. He drank it up and then turned to look at Sakura who was drinking from her own bottle a couple meters away from him. “I have to go now.”

“I’ll stay behind a do some more training. It was good sparring with you.”

“Spar again tomorrow, same hour?” Sasuke spoke without looking at her, as he was rearranging his weapon pouch.

“Okay.” Sakura frowned after she finished drinking more water. “You went a bit overboard with that last attack though.”

“I did, but so did you.” Sasuke admitted as he put the bottle away. “You were proving difficult to beat.”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Sakura felt her lips turn into a smirk. It was half an attempt to act like how she used to, to make sure he didn’t suspect that she was wary of him. But it was also an attempt to try and change her unconscious uneasiness around him. “I’ve become strong.”

Sasuke eyed her for a moment, his eyes gaining an intensity that they’d lacked before. Did he know of her distrust or was he just thinking about something else? Sakura stayed silent, expecting some sort of answer. He finally let out a small chuckle and turned around to leave.

“Did you think I was weak?” Sakura asked honestly, wondering if everyone she had sparred this last couple years had been going easy or playing tricks on her. Maybe Sasuke was just too strong? Before she could worry anymore, Sasuke looked at her from over his shoulder and spoke.

“Sakura.” One of his eyebrows was raised in disbelief. “You were never weak.”

Without another word Sasuke left the training ground and Sakura stayed behind with wide eyes. Hearing Sasuke compliment her abilities was always kind of surprising, given that he had continuously looked down on her in her previous life.  

When they’d met earlier that evening, things had been just like the previous day when she’d first seen him after such a long time. He’d been acting as if they hadn’t been apart for _two years_ , as if there weren’t any unspoken subjects between them. As if Sakura hadn’t begged him to be careful around Danzo and to keep his guard up. He hadn’t talked about that subject in his letters – which had been obvious given that their correspondence could be seen by root – but he also hadn’t said a word about it in person. Did he not want to talk about it with her or did he just not think it was necessary?

The only difference was that Sasuke seemed slightly more relaxed and open around her. Even though that change was something that Sakura had noticed when she’d read his letters before leaving Suna, it still came as a startling difference. Then again, when she looked at him, it didn’t _feel_ out of place or fake. It didn’t _seem_ as if Sasuke was playing her and trying to make her trust him just to deceive her. She _felt_ his honesty towards her and she felt compelled to believe it all to be true and be happy that it seemed like he wasn’t submerged in a sea of anguish.  She wanted nothing more than to trust him and still be friends with him.

However, Sakura had been living as a shinobi for almost a decade now and that meant that she had learned to always be overly cautious. She was also aware that she needed to be extra cautious when she knew that her own personal feelings were involved. And, since this time it was about _Sasuke_ , she wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t be blinded by how she _felt._

**-x-**

Sakura had a huge smile on her face as she hastily knocked on the wooden door. Sounds of footsteps followed not long after and her smile widened as the door was opened.

“Yes?” Ino peeked out through the door and jumped in surprise at the sight of her pink haired friend. “Sakura!”

Sakura was pulled into a tight hug and she immediately embraced her blond friend in return. She took in a deep breath and felt her heart fill with joy at the familiar scent of her friend. Ino let go of Sakura and quickly pulled her inside the house.

“I didn’t know you were back! When did you arrive?” Ino asked after pushing Sakura down on a sofa.

“I- uhm. Three days ago.”

“What?!” Ino screeched and Sakura sighed – she’d been expecting this reaction. “I told you to come right away!”

“You know… I had a _lot_ of laundry to do.” Sakura said and Ino raised an eyebrow. “I have been catching up with my parents too.”

“ _All day long?_ ” Ino squinted her eyes suspiciously at Sakura.

“I’ve… also been meeting with Sasuke for training.” Sakura sighed.

“Ha! I figured as much. Only sparring?”

“Well… we ate ramen afterwards once.”

“As in a date?” Ino’s eyebrows shot up.

“As if.” Sakura snorted.

“Oh.” Ino sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, forehead. I doubt he has hormones _at all._ I’ve seen some truly beautiful girls asking him out or blatantly flirting with him – you know, since he’s the Hokage’s apprentice and the last Uchiha – and he doesn’t react. Like, _at all._ ”

“Really?” Sakura raised her eyebrows. She’d figured that Sasuke had been with someone in her past life and had assumed that given how things were now, he would at least have a fling or two. She guessed that now he had to be the most sought after man of their generation.

“Yeah. I sometimes wondered if he’s into men… but he doesn’t seem interested in them either. It’s truly as if he didn’t even know sex existed, or did but didn’t care about it at all. And he’s _sixteen_ , which has to be _the_ most hormonal age for boys. You will probably have a hard time getting under his skin.”

“I know.”

“And since I’m such a good friend, I should tell you that you might never get him.” Ino frowned.

“I _know._ ”

“You should really try to find someone else.” Ino scratched her chin as Sakura threw her an annoyed look – it wasn’t as if she hadn’t tried to forget about Sasuke – but Ino ignored it. “I can usually read people quite well because of the field my family specializes in, but I don’t really get him. He’s incredibly hard to read.”

“It’s taken me a long time to see a bit behind his mask.” Sakura nodded. “You wrote that you’ve been spending some time with him.”

“Yeah. Like… every other week I see him because he spends some time with Shikamaru. He doesn’t seem to like me or Choji as much though. It’s more than just tolerating our presence, but he definitely doesn’t like us as much as Naruto or you.” Ino shrugged. “He barely talks to us… not that he talks that much anyways. Shikamaru is too lazy and he talks only a bit too… maybe that’s why they actually get along.”

“Well… Sasuke is a bit picky when it comes to letting people in.” Sakura sighed in surrender. _That’s_ _an understatement._ Sakura quickly assessed her surroundings to make sure they were not being overheard and then spoke indirectly anyways, just in case. “Anyways, he’s Danzo-sama’s apprentice, so he’s probably busy.”

“Oh, yes.” Ino caught her innuendo immediately. “He usually spends all day inside that bunker training with him or doing whatever it is he does with him. He doesn’t usually speak much about it to any of us, but we know that he’s busy because we only see him sometimes. He does train with us every now and then with us and plays shogi with Shikamaru.”

“Oh, I knew that.” Sakura smiled. “He’s even beaten him a couple times.”

“Really?” Ino’s eyes widened and then she smirked. “Shikamaru hadn’t told us about that.”

“Obviously.” Sakura laughed and then looked at Ino for a moment in silence. “Enough about me. How have _you_ been?”

“You already know that I became chunin and that the flower store has been doing fine.” Ino scratched her chin and finally snapped her fingers. “I know! About the jutsu.”

“What jutsu?”

“You know… the idea you gave me to further develop my clan’s Mind Reading Jutsu?”

“Oh! What about it?” Sakura widened her eyes in expectation. If she managed to develop that jutsu, then maybe Danzo could be actually taken out of office.

“We actually found a way to do it. But it might not be as effective as we thought.” Ino explained. “You see, the amount of chakra required to do such a technique is enormous. On one part, the person that performs the jutsu will be completely drained of chakra so it’ll be too risky to use on the battlefield. On the other hand, we assume that the strain on the target will be extremely high and it would probably be deadly. Nonetheless, it could be a useful jutsu when it comes to convicted criminals that know important information that needs to be analyzed by a group of experts. The Clan is still discussing whether to use it or not because of the risk.”

“Oh.” Sakura hopes were immediately crushed. There was no way that such a jutsu would be used on a Hokage, even if she managed to make people suspicious about him. The regular Mind Reading Jutsu was not good enough. _If_ Danzo’s memories were to be searched by just one person, he would definitely find the way to bypass the system and get away with it.

“I’m sorry.” Ino said, a knowing and apologetic look in her eyes. Sakura smiled fondly at her friend; even knowing that Sakura was suspicious of the _Hokage_ of all people, Ino was still trying to help her.

“Don’t apologize.” Sakura hugged her friend briefly. “I need to go.”

“What?! You’ve been here like… fifteen minutes.” Ino frowned.

“I have another appointment, but I promise that I’ll come and visit for a longer time another day.”

“You better, _Forehead_.” Ino scolded as she walked Sakura to the front door, but Sakura could hear the smirk in her voice clearly.

“I’ll see you around, _Pig_.” Sakura smirked back and took off.

Sakura had truly never planned on visiting Ino in the first place. She’d been on her way to meet Kakashi and had passed by Ino’s house. Sakura had felt a bit guilty for not finding time to even say hello and had decided that she had a couple minutes to spare and visit her. However, now she had to move on to her original destination; to meet Kakashi. He had just arrived from a mission yesterday and they had agreed that they couldn’t meet inside the village because there were just too many hiding spots for root ANBU. So, they’d settled for training ground 2, which was the only one with scarce enough vegetation that would ensure they wouldn’t be overheard.

Sakura soon got to training ground 2 and immediately spotted Kakashi. He was sitting on a medium sized rock, his arms stretched and supporting his weight lazily. His lone eye was already looking at her when she entered the place and she sat down next to her teacher.

“Hey.” Sakura said and allowed her sensing ability to scan their surroundings just in case. She paid special attention to the underground. They were alone.

“Hey.” Kakashi’s lone eye crinkled when he smiled at her. “How was your mission in Suna?”

“I didn’t have any trouble.” Sakura waved that subject off. “Things have changed in Konoha… but not as much as I had expected. I was honestly expecting worst.”

“What exactly have you seen or heard?”

“The first thing I realized when I got here was that civilians and shinobi alike seem to be constantly perturbed and looking over their shoulders. Two days later I was on my way back home from sparring and was stopped by a root ANBU. He asked what I’d been doing out so late at night and I had to explain myself to them. I then told my parents about it and they said that it’s a common occurrence.”

“It is.” Kakashi nodded and sighed. “It was announced that the Akatsuki is trying to enter the village and that they already have spies amongst us. That was almost a year and a half ago and it started only with a couple root patrols around the village. However, it has slowly escalated to the point that people are questioned when going out at night and even small crowds are forced to scatter. Usually they question groups of over 4 or 5 people about their meeting no matter what time of the day, unless they all live in the same house of course.”

“That’s clearly an overreaction to Akatsuki’s movements. That’s weird. Why would the Akatsuki target Konoha earlier than in my past life? What changed?”

“It’s weird because they’re _not_.” Kakashi said in anger. “I’ve found no evidence that the Akatsuki have currently tried to get into Konoha… no more than two years ago at least.”

“I don’t mean to say that the Akatsuki is not a threat… but it seems to me that something else is going on. In my past life the Akatsuki threat was managed in an offensive way towards them, never in a way that would change the way the village works on the inside. In fact, back then ordinary people probably didn’t even know about the Akatsuki until Pain attacked.”

“ _Danzo_ is what’s going on.” Kakashi growled. “He’s been constantly planting fear and doubt across the whole village – shinobi and civilians alike. That bastard has _slowly_ convinced people that it’s all right to have them constantly watched because of an international threat that’s currently not that much of a threat – to _Danzo’s_ knowledge at least. Who knows, maybe he’s actually aware of what the Akatsuki is doing. But I think that the reason he’s keeping people afraid is something else entirely. I haven’t known of _one_ successful mission to attack or try to track the Akatsuki. They all seem to be following empty leads… and I’m honestly not buying any of it.”

“If you think about it, the fact that he’s spreading fear throughout the village is enough proof that something’s up. What’s the use of making civilians afraid of a threat they would _never_ be able to stand against on their own? There _isn’t_. Civilians can’t do _anything_ about it.” Sakura hissed. “However, fear is a powerful thing in a whole different way. I experienced it first hand during the war… refugees and people who had lost their homes were willing to accept anything to be safe.” _But they all ended up dying anyways…_

“I’ve seen it too. Fear is like a disease of the mind that can be masterfully used if people don’t have their guards up. People who are afraid will accept anything as long as they’re promised safety.” Kakashi frowned and tapped his finger on his knee. “But that doesn’t _mean_ that the threat is nonexistent. You of all people know that.”

“I do. But think about it. What better excuse for becoming a tyrant in your village than an _actual_ international criminal organization? Dictators usually arise from crisis. So if there wasn’t such crisis, Danzo had to create one or use it in his favor.” Sakura clicked her tongue and scowled. “It’s _ridiculous_! All of that energy should be put into tracking the Akatsuki and bringing them down, not spy on our own. It’s so insane that I wonder how no one has said anything about it.”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Kakashi sighed. “It was done _slowly._ In fact, if you look around, things aren’t _that_ bad yet. It has all been done in a way that has seemed to escalate with sightings and threats – which I still haven’t found proof of. It’s been believable to everyone and it’s allowed people to change their minds and accept it.”

“I understand.” Sakura combed her hair with her fingers and bit her lip before speaking. “Damn. Danzo has been truly smart about this whole thing. If he were to act like a dictator the first day in office, people would’ve probably never accepted it. Damn, probably the rest of us shinobi would’ve tried to take him down.”

“Exactly.” Kakashi sighed. “Almost everyone seems to agree with how things have changed here. I was suspicious of Danzo long before he became Hokage, and hearing your story only made me more wary of him. It’s helped me to clearly see all his moves and interpret or at least doubt Danzo’s version of events. But not everyone questions his policies and agenda. In fact, I would say that almost every civilian is on Danzo’s side by now… I assume that there have to be some who disagree but must be afraid that they’d be pointed out as spies. On our side, only some of the most experienced and intelligent shinobi don’t buy his whole set up, but we’re too few to try anything. The rest… I’ve heard them say that they _do_ think it’s a bit much, but that they’re willing to risk anything for the village’s safety.”

Silence stretched for almost a whole minute. Both of them were engrossed in their thoughts and worries. Sakura was truly in despair about everything and felt her heartbeat get faster by the second. She finally bit her lower lip and spoke. “We _have_ to do something.”

“We _can’t_ do anything about it, Sakura. It’s too risky and the Akatuski still need to be dealt with.”

“We could try to find some intel about him… something… maybe make it viral. Spread sheets on the streets. I don’t know…” Sakura clenched her fists. “But I fear that things will only get worse if we don’t do something.”

“They probably will. But remember what your real mission is.” Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. “Danzo will die someday and someone else will become Hokage in his stead. However, if the Juubi comes to life…”

“ _I know_!!” Sakura snapped in an almost vehement way. She soon realized her actions, took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly. When she _finally_ managed to stop her hands from shaking she spoke again “I know.”

“We need to focus on that for now.” Kakashi eyed her with slight concern, but kept speaking nonetheless. “During these two years I’ve gathered some intel on the sightings of the Akatuski in other nations. They’ve obtained some of the tailed beasts already. I also have some probable hideouts pinpointed thanks to some reports of places they’ve been regularly spotted. I thought that maybe you already knew of this stuff from your past life, but I still have everything in a sealed file. You should take a look at it so that we can set up a plan of action.”

“I… yes. You’re right.” Sakura forced herself to nod. The thought of _actually_ planing to go back to the place where the tailed beasts were gathered made her almost nauseous. The memories that came with it didn’t allow her to think clearly.

“What about you?” Kakashi broke her out of her thoughts.

“What?”

“How much did you manage to do while in Suna?”

“I…” Sakura suddenly felt petrified. Ashamed and afraid of Kakashi’s reaction. She looked at him in the eye hesitantly and then turned her eyes to the ground beneath her feet. She fisted the hem of her shirt and played with it nervously. “Damn… I…”

“Sakura.” Kakashi’s steely voice made her jump and she reluctantly raised her eyes to meet his stare. He seemed calm, but his eyes were boring into her with such intensity that Sakura felt like hiding under a rock. “Don’t tell me you did _nothing_.”

Sakura tightly closed her eyes and bit her lip. Her hands were shaking again and she had to clasp them together to prevent it from getting worse. The thought of Kakashi confronting her about not doing anything in Suna was eating her away. She’d been through _so much_ in her previous life; so much devastation, so much fear and pain. Why was something like _this_ affecting her so deeply? She _had_ decided to not do anything for a completely plausible reason, right? However, something did not seem right with her at the moment. Her shaking only got more intense and her breathing was almost erratic.

_Why am I feeling like this?!_

“ _Sakura_.” Kakashi’s almost broken voice brought her back – she wasn’t sure if it was desperation or anger – as he shook her shoulder forcefully. “Your time in Suna was the _one_ chance to actually get something done! Do you think Danzo will simply allow you to stroll out of here and have a _talk_ to the Akatsuki without a reason?! It was two _damned_ years! You could’ve _easily_ found way to leave for an hour or two, or send a message, or a clone. I know it held some risk, but you _knew_ that the risk was much higher here in Konoha. How come you didn’t-”

“ _I don’t know!_ ” Sakura raised her voice only a bit, barely stopping herself from yelling and giving away their location to root ANBU. Her hands clenched Kakashi’s shoulders tightly and she felt tears pool in her eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know. _I.don’t.know._ ”

By now her whole body was tensed to the point that every muscle was aching. Sakura clenched her eyes shut and felt the hot tears stream down her cheeks. She felt Kakashi’s demeanor change and his hand came to rest on her shoulder – this time kindly – and he drew soothing circles on them. It somehow worked and she managed to calm down after a couple minutes.

“Sakura.” Kakashi spoke, his voice softer and calmer too. Sakura looked up at him with a frown, not truly understanding what had happened to her. “I know what’s wrong with you.”

“W-what?” she stammered and wiped her tears away.

“I saw it a couple times while working in ANBU and after the third war.” He explained. “Especially traumatic cases had a great resistance when it came to facing situations that were similar to the trauma. They needed a lot of support and help to get through it.”

“But Kakashi… I’ve been around for _four_ years. This is the first time that I’ve felt like this.”

“Until now you were only faced with things that didn’t directly relate to the fourth war and the Juubi.” Kakashi raised his finger. “Take Orochimaru as an example. He was responsible for taking Sasuke away, but he was already dead by the time the war started, right? Itachi and Kisame coming to find Naruto supposedly happened much earlier than the war in your previous life as well, so it wouldn’t affect you as much even though they _are_ part of the Akatsuki. On the other hand, Danzo becoming Hokage was something that happened at the beginning of the war, so your reaction to that was stronger than it should’ve been.”

“And now that I’m faced with the prospect of meeting Obito… it’s getting much worse.” Sakura admitted.

“Don’t you honestly think that you could’ve done at least something while you were in Suna?”

“I… I probably could’ve.”

“I can imagine that you found a perfectly plausible reason for waiting.” Kakashi said and Sakura nodded. “But if you think about it logically… there is no larger risk than doing nothing. The closer we get to the start of the war, the more difficult it gets to try to stop it. Especially since events are no longer the same as they were in your original timeline.”

“You’re right.” Sakura sighed. It was true. She’d found an excuse to do nothing. “I… I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t blame you Sakura.” Kakashi said softly. “You went through... practically an apocalypse. You saw everyone dear to you die… not just them, but _every living person_. You were surrounded by death, and you were famished for a whole _year._ You were isolated, afraid, in pain, in grief and trying to find survivors restlessly. It’s more than any of us has gone through. And you went through all of that on your own.” Kakashi put his hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “And then you suddenly found yourself back in a time where everything was still all right. Where your precious people were still alive. Where you were safe…”

“Oh…” Sakura felt her voice break and she covered her face with trembling fingers.

“But when you came back you had no one to rely on, no one to talk to. You had to bury all of the memories deep inside you. Bury all of those feelings that were hunting you and pretend they didn’t exist. You _had_ to pretend that you could to this… because there was no other choice.” Kakashi’s arm circled around Sakura’s shoulders and pulled her closer in a hug. He felt her body shake against his. “But Sakura, you’re still human. Even shinobi are still human and _not_ killing machines. Of _course_ you would unconsciously cope with it through trying to avoid facing such a scenario again… find a reason to why it was ok to delay everything over and over again. I understand why you did what you did. Damn, I probably would’ve broken down a long time ago. I maybe would’ve handled things much worse. You’ve been truly strong, Sakura, but no one can stay strong forever in _these_ conditions.”

Sakura sobbed into her hands. Kakashi was _right._ He was so damn right. She’d been feeling like a ticking bomb all this time… fearing the looming threat of the fourth war but not finding the courage to take real action against it. She’d been so comfortable with her new life… so safe. She hadn’t wanted to feel that terrifying angst again. But it had all been something unconscious, because she was _aware_ that she could not afford to be weak, to be afraid. She had tried to make it reasonable to delay the unavoidable.

“You see, Sakura. This is exactly the feeling that Danzo is using against people. Everyone is willing to oversee things just to feel a little safer. It’s a natural coping mechanism. Everyone goes through this after a trauma… and they usually get professional help.” Kakashi sighed. “The sad thing is… you will have to pull through this on your own – with my support, yes, but I don’t think I’ll be the same as a professional. I really would love to tell you to go on a vacation, get some rest, make use of as much time as needed to get better. But you have to get a hold of yourself soon, because I _need_ your help to do something about the war. I can’t do it on my own.”

“Dammit… Kakashi.” Sakura bit her lip and frowned, sorrow clear in her features. “I promise that I will try… but I don’t know if I can do this in such a short amount of time…”

“You’ll have to…” Kakashi sighed, but there was understanding in his voice. “We can’t go to a professional, because Danzo would find out about it. And we can’t allow that to happen, because it would probably end up in someone looking into your memories-”

“-and Danzo would probably kill Sasuke.” Sakura rubbed her eyes with her right hand. “He would become too much of a threat to Danzo’s position as Hokage. And if in the worst case scenario we can’t change Obito’s mind…”

“…we _will_ need Sasuke alive to fight him. And preferably on our side.” Kakashi said. “About Sasuke. You’ve met him, right?”

“I’ve been sparring with him every day since I came back. I still don’t know if I trust him though.” Sakura frowned and felt her heart clench when voicing her distrust of him. “It’s not that I have a _feeling_ that he’s become Danzo’s pawn, because I don’t. I know that he’s smart and capable of handling terrifying teachers – I told you about Orochimaru, remember? – but Danzo is exceptional on that matter too; too smart and too cautious.”

“I also don’t know what to expect.” Kakashi honestly said. “I have to say though that I have seen him change too, but it has been too gradual and easy for it to be raw brainwashing. One option is that Sasuke _is_ on Danzo’s side, but out of his own accord. The other one is that he has honestly changed for the better after you left.”

“Are you leaning towards one option?”

“I think he’s all right. You may have not noticed, but I’ve been looking from the outside since team 7 was formed and I definitely _did_ notice _._ ” Kakashi explained. “When team 7 was formed, Sasuke was incredibly reserved and awkward around people. He didn’t seem to enjoy anything but training. But in a bit over a year, his whole demeanor changed. He became more open and seemed to tolerate being around other people… and even _enjoy_ yours and Naruto’s company.”

“You think that two years could be a perfectly reasonable period for Sasuke to change, even if it’s just a bit.” Sakura noted.

“Yes. I’ve seen him around Shikamaru a lot… I think they’ve become friends actually. I’ve sometimes seen him with other people from your graduation year, but I can’t tell if he’s comfortable around them.” Kakashi said. “He’s been making a fair amount of contact with people other than Danzo, so I think that we should truly consider him changing for real.”

“I’m glad to hear that you think so.”

“Sakura, remember that it’s just a hypothesis.” Kakashi warned. “Sasuke is incredibly smart, so he might be playing us. He might be putting a whole façade in order to get under our skin because Danzo’s ordered him to. You still need to be wary of him.”

“Damn…” Sakura looked down. “That’s what I fear too.”

“You must be careful, Sakura. You’re not completely emotionally stable when it comes to your approach to the topic of the war and we can’t be sure about Sasuke. You know we can’t take any risks until things are dealt with. I recommend that you try to stay calm in regards to Sasuke and Danzo. Be sure that they don’t become suspicious, but don’t give them your trust; don’t push them away or make them your enemy, but don’t let them in either. When this whole issue with the Akatsuki has been dealt with we can start looking into our inner village problems.”

“Got it.”

Sakura voice was steady at her last statement. But she was no fool… at least not in the sense that she didn’t know her own personal behavior. Sakura just _knew_ from the moment she’d agreed to Kakashi’s advice, that she would never be able to go through with it.

**A/N: So! There it is. Nothing _too_ big happens in this chapter plotwise. However, Sakura's character development gets the most part on this one. It is definitely important that people understand her feelings regarding her mission and her new life. I imagine that many of you haven’t stopped to consider the effect her previous life has had on her present one. Damn. Not even Sakura noticed in a conscious way until now.**

**Anyways, I hope that this chapter has answered some of your questions regarding what happened in Konoha while she was away. Also, you may have noticed how Sakura has actually done _nothing_ against the Akatsuki in _four_ years – someone even mentioned it to me on a review to chapter 26 and it was quite funny because I had planned on bringing that subject up on this chapter – so now here’s an explanation. Of course Sakura would not be able to simply stroll around a go back to the most traumatic event in her life without some unconscious resistance. I don’t think anyone would’ve managed. It even took someone else to figure out her issues regarding the war. Do you think that her trauma and overall reactions were believable? **

**I’m also interested to know what you thought of Danzo’s doing in Konoha. I am _aware_** **that most writers characterize Danzo as an extremely violent and strict dictator. However, I think that it’s mostly not realistic. Tyrants usually rise from great crisis – take Hitler, Mussolini or Pinochet as an example – because otherwise they would most definitely be overthrown right away or at the very least meet great resistance. It has to take the country to be in some deep shit for people to agree.  Since Konoha is actually quite prosperous, Danzo can’t just simply become a tyrant right away and he needs to slowly convince citizens that there is reason for him to become such a control freak.**

**This author note was quite long and I wrote it after my beta read the document, so it might contain a couple mistakes. On that note, I would like to thank MonochromeAce for her help with the chapter, as usual!**

**Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated! Thank you so much for reading!**


	28. Someone Unpleasant

** CHAPTER 28 **

“Jeez, Sasuke.” Sakura raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha in front of her. “If you’re gonna keep attacking like that I might have to find a different sparring partner.”

“You should thank me.” Sasuke smirked. “Besides, who would you spar with? Ino?”

Sakura gaped. “Ino is strong!” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura and she rephrased her thoughts. “She’s good enough!”

“Is she?”

“She’s… not that bad.” Sakura frowned, finally giving in; Sasuke had sparred with Ino enough times to know that he and Sakura herself were both way out of her league.  It’s not like the blonde was _bad_ , because she was certainly chunin level. But Sasuke and Sakura were both jonin level at the very least even though they were officially still chunin - it was still required to have at least three years’ experience as a chunin to apply to the jonin exam.

“If you don’t push yourself to your limits you won’t progress.” Sasuke stated and moved to walk back to the village. Sakura followed his lead and began walking next to him.

“I know.” Sakura shrugged. “But at least I get to complain, don’t I? I can’t let you get away with all those A-ranked attacks without at least listening to my ranting.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura’s words, but Sakura could read the humor in the gesture. She simply grinned back at him and stretched her back until it cracked. Sakura suddenly noticed that she was hungry and looked at Sasuke for a second. During the two weeks that she’d been in Konoha they’d gotten into the habit of eating something for dinner after sparring. “So, what is it going to be today?”

“Ichiraku’s.”

Sakura nodded and smiled. The ramen stand always brought back memories of Naruto and Sakura couldn’t help but become nostalgic when they both sat down on a stool. Naruto noisily slurping up his ramen was one of the fondest memories Sakura had of him, even if it was about his complete lack of manners. It was some sort of a trademark characteristic of Naruto; the way how completely messy, unorg-

“You’re thinking about him.” Sasuke’s statement interrupted her thoughts.

“How did you know?” Sakura raised an eyebrow.

“It’s written all over your face.” Sasuke deadpanned, as if stating the obvious.

“Oh.” Sakura smiled and looked down at the ramen that was placed on her plate. “Well… this place reminds me of him. Especially his _characteristic_ way of eating ramen, you know? As if there was no tomorrow; completely disregarding social expectations or pace, movement, and noise. It was almost sweet.”

“It was disgusting.” Sasuke closed his eyes and lifted one eyebrow, his face serious. “I’d rather not think about his manners while I’m expecting my meal.”

“Oh, please _excuse me,_ sir.” Sakura smirked and looked at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. She knew that Sasuke would never say it aloud, but he cared about Naruto. “I bet you’re just as nostalgic about him as I am.”

“Oh, _definitely._ Especially about all that slurping.”

Sakura laughed as she eyed him curiously; she honestly enjoyed Sasuke’s ironic humor, but it still seemed a bit uncharacteristic. It actually was the kind of humor she would expect from him, but at the same time she wasn’t sure if she should expect _any_ kind of humor from him. She was about to say something else but her meal was placed on the tabletop in front of her. She looked up at Ayame and smiled as she slightly nodded her head.

“Thank you.” She lifted the chopsticks and began slowly eating her ramen. Sasuke’s dinner was served right afterwards and she noticed that he had ordered something else. “Tonkatsu?”

“Aa.” He said and began eating his food without another word.

“My father is the best when it comes to cooking Tonkatsu.” Sakura smiled. “It’s my mother’s favorite.”

“I _noticed._ ” Sasuke grumbled.

“Huh?” Sakura asked after swallowing her ramen. “What do you mean?”

“One out of every three times I was forced to eat at your parents’ house they served Tonkatsu.”

“Why do you say _forced_.” Sakura snorted and tapped her fingers on the wooden surface. “I doubt that they _dragged_ you out of your house.”

“They insisted.”

“And you just couldn’t refuse.” Sakura shot back. Sasuke was about to agree with her when he noticed the trap in her statement and groaned instead. “Admit that you wanted to go every time.”

“I didn’t.” he said shorty, without turning to look at her.

“Then why not refuse?” Sakura smirked. “You can’t say you’re being _forced_ if you don’t speak your mind about not wanting to go.”

“It wasn’t polite.”

“ _Oh._ ” Sakura mockingly put a hand over her lips. “I’d forgotten how much you watch your words around others. You’re always _so_ careful about not hurting people’s feelings.”

“I’m not rude.” Sasuke frowned and this time turned his head to fully look at her. He would’ve been insulted by anyone teasing him like that, but this was Sakura and he could feel the kindness radiating off her as she spoke.

“You’re not _insulting_ , but you’re definitely blunt about things.” Sakura raised a finger and took another bite of her ramen. When she swallowed she added. “So that means that you didn’t really despise the idea of eating dinner with my parents.”

Sasuke grunted in annoyance and snapped his head back to his meal. He started eating again and Sakura had to stifle a laugh at his stubbornness. She smiled at him fondly though – she found his ways quite endearing – and then spoke again.

“My parents said they wouldn’t have minded if you joined us when I first got back.” Sakura said and picked another piece of pork with her chopsticks. “They seem to like you a lot.”

“Apparently.” Sasuke stopped looking at his food and then turned to look at Sakura in the eye for a moment. “How did they react?”

“When I got back?” Sakura asked and he nodded once. “My mother was really happy and hugged me tightly. She said she was so proud of me finishing my first long term mission.” Sakura smiled kindly at the memory of her mother’s trust and then closed her eyes as she giggled. “My father was really worried and kept asking if I’d had any trouble there or on my way back home. He ended up crying hard and it took me a while to pry him off me.”

“I figured.” Sasuke chuckled quietly. “No offense, but your father is quite soft.”

“No offense taken.” Sakura smiled. “My mother is always the most pragmatic and practical, while my father is more emotional and worries a lot. My family has always been out of the ordinary and things are quite flexible because of that. No one is expected to be someone they’re not… I really like it.”

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly as he looked at the wall in front of him. Sakura wondered if he was comparing her family with his own. The Uchiha’s had been known for having quite a rigid structure, especially when it came to gender roles. Before she could think about what she was saying, Sakura opened her mouth.

“Your family was quite different, wasn’t it?” Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of his family and turned his head to face her. Sakura only then noticed that her question might bring up unwanted memories and she waved her hands in front of her defensively. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to-”

“They were.” Sasuke said as he looked to the front again, which Sakura took as a good sign so she stopped explaining herself. “My clan was considerably conservative, especially my family since they were the head family. They taught me that it was wrong to go against the norm or be different than what the Clan expected you to be. I must admit that your family dynamics put me slightly off the first time, but I got used to it. It seems to be working well for you all, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”

Sakura nodded as she took another bite of her meal. She faintly noticed that Sasuke had probably spoken this much in one sentence in her presence only a handful of times. She was about to say something else, when another presence walked into Ichiraku’s. A presence she knew.

“ _Ugh._ ” Shikamaru said when he noticed that Sakura was sitting at the stand.

“ _Ugh?_ ” Sakura questioned with a frown. When she was about to ask him what was wrong with her presence she heard another voice from behind him.

“Forehead!” Ino spoke loudly and grinned widely. “It’s so _good_ to see you here! I’ve been wanting to talk to you for _days_!”

Sakura suddenly realized why Shikamaru had been so bothered by her presence; he probably assumed that Ino wouldn’t stop talking now. Ino walked behind the rest of them and sat down next to Sakura animatedly, Choji following to sit next to her. Ino turned to look at her pink haired friend, her eyes widening a bit when she saw Sasuke next to her; she apparently hadn’t noticed his presence before.

“Sasuke is here too?” Ino frowned and then sighed in exasperation. “ _Great._ Just _great._ ”

Sakura’s eyes darted back and forth between Ino at one side of her and Sasuke and Shikamaru at the other. Shikamaru had his signature bored expression plastered on his face, while Sasuke was sitting as nonchalantly as ever. However, there was the smallest tug at Sasuke’s lips and Sakura wondered if he was amused by the situation.

“Oi, Sakura.” Ino said hastily and Sakura faced the blonde once again. “Don’t tell me you’re on a date right now.”

“What? _No._ ” she denied, almost chocking on her spit. Why did Ino have to be such a _tease_? Then again, maybe she was saying that to make Sasuke wonder about her in a different way.

“ _Good._ ” She smirked. “Because I would’ve _so_ screwed it up right now. Anyways, you won’t believe half the stuff I’ve heard.”

And so, Sakura ended up hearing a dozen different stories about people she both knew and had never heard of. Sakura understood why Ino got on Shikamaru’s nerves; she truly spoke too much and Shikamaru was probably more comfortable around quiet people. Sakura was not at all a quiet person, but she _definitely_ paled when compared to the Yamanaka. However, despite Sakura being aware that Ino spoke _a lot_ , she didn’t really mind. Ino always had this friendly way of speaking about other people’s business and it seemed more like small talk than regular ill-intended gossip. Ino just spoke about what she saw or heard but made no judgment about it. It was actually entertaining, like reading a book or seeing a move.

Eventually, Choji started speaking too. Mostly asking Ino questions, but also giving some feedback on things that he’d heard as well. The two of them slowly began a discussion about what methods to use in order to find out how true the stories were. In the end, they ended up bickering about how the other one never listened to what they had to say and was always too stubborn to see the truth in their statements. Sakura inwardly laughed, remembering that Sasuke had wrote to her that the two of them acted like and old married couple.

Sakura noticed how, on her other side, Sasuke and Shikamaru were serenely eating their dinner. At least Shikamaru was, because Sasuke had already finished his own. The both of them were sitting in a relaxed manner and looking ahead, sometimes exchanging a couple words on light subjects. She was surprised to realize how… easy they seemed to be around each other. Actually, it made sense. Sasuke had always been the quiet type, unlike most people their age, while he also was a stubborn person. Oh the other hand, Shikamaru was quiet too, but he disliked conflict. It did make sense that Shikamaru would become friends with Sasuke. Also, the both of them had the same bothered expressions plastered on their faces, probably due to Ino’s and Choji’s argument. Sakura now understood why Ino was not happy about Sasuke’s presence; not only would Shikamaru be making faces as she spoke, but Sasuke would probably too.

Sakura didn’t think that Sasuke seemed as close to Shikamaru as he seemed to Naruto, but they appeared to be close enough to be called friends. It made her unconsciously smile at the fact that Sasuke had _actually_ – or maybe apparently – opened up to other people. Maybe it was because of her insistence on it before leaving to Suna. Maybe it was out of his own accord. Maybe it had been Ino’s insistence – Sakura’s request – that had forced them to actually talk to each other. It was pointless to wonder, because Sakura was happy for him nonetheless. Sasuke had been needing that since forever.

Thankfully, Sakura now felt more at ease around Sasuke. There weren’t any awkward silences and she wasn’t afraid that he would see her mistrust every second that she spent next to him. Two weeks spending a couple hours a day together had melted her discomfort away. However, the fact that she was going with the flow and acting spontaneously now didn’t mean that she _trusted_ him. She was as wary of him as the first day, since she still hadn’t found evidence to decide if she should trust him.

Then again, she was _not_ supposed to be trying to figure Sasuke out. Kakashi and she had agreed that she would try to keep things cool with Sasuke. It would work out better to be on his good side if he were to be an enemy and it would also be preferable to not push him away if he were to be on their side. However, trying to figure him out came as a natural thing to her and she sometimes found herself observing him intently, as if that would clear up her worries.

Sakura must’ve been caught in her musings for a while, because she suddenly realized that Ino, Choji and Shikamaru were leaving. She waved them goodbye and turned to look at Ayame, who was standing in front of her. Sakura handed her the amount of money for her meal and then stood up, as Sasuke mirrored her actions. The two of them started heading back towards the outskirts of the city, where the two of them lived.

“You must be itching to go back to work.” Sasuke said after a while of silence.

“You have no idea.” Sakura sighed. “I can’t bring myself to feel content when I’m being useless. Going back to the hospital will definitely be the highlight of my day.”

“Hn.” Sasuke said, but there was an edge to his voice. Sakura curiously turned to fully face him and raised her eyebrows. He was frowning slightly, seemingly thinking of something distasteful.

“What?”

“You’ll… probably meet someone unpleasant tomorrow.” He grumbled.

“Really? Who? Why unpleasant?”

“You’ll see. There’s no point in explaining it now.”

“Oh. Ok.” Sakura said and frowned when she noticed that they’d gotten to the crossroads that would separate their paths. “I’ll see you around!”

Sasuke lazily waved as he turned to take a right turn and Sakura took the left one. She wondered who that unpleasant person was. Maybe it was a patient? Or maybe some shinobi on guard duty at the hospital? Maybe it was a new nurse? Nonetheless, Sakura was certain that whoever it was, they would not ruin her first day at Konoha’s hospital after _two years_ of absence.

**-x-**

_It had been such a_ long _time since Sakura had seen a living human being. Probably two months, maybe even more. As she stumbled into a small town – or what was left of it – her eyes widened when she saw a figure sitting against the wall of a small house. There was no way a corpse could remain in such a position, even if the owner had died sitting._

_Sakura hastily ran towards the person, who turned out to be a middle-aged woman. And she was alive. Sakura felt her chest constrict between feeling elation because she’d found someone alive and worry because of the clear state of malnourishment she was in. Honestly though, Sakura was no better. She needed to regain at least 25% of her body weight to be within healthy levels, but thankfully she had managed to start using her shishou’s ability. However, instead of helping her stay young it was renewing the cells of her organs as they decayed from lack of nutrients and protein. Sadly, the woman in front of her didn’t have that choice._

_Sakura quickly shook her awake and was slowly met by deep brown eyes, which were slightly glazed with exhaustion but conscious nonetheless. The woman seemed to frown in confusion and the pink haired medic kneeled in front of her._

_“Hey. I’m Sakura.” she spoke softly._

_“How… how can you even move?” the woman – that must’ve been around forty years old, just like Sakura’s mother would’ve been – spoke with a frown. “You… look just as bad… as I do.”_

_“I… I’m a medic.” Sakura was somehow not proud to state her profession this time around. Her abilities with chakra could do nothing against starvation… unless it was her own body. It made her feel frustrated, useless and selfish. Of course, Sakura would not have forfeited her life for the woman’s – probably not – but at least she would’ve expected to be able to use her chakra in_ some _way to help. However, just like medic nin couldn’t revert chakra exhaustion on someone else, they couldn’t replenish nutrients. “I’m strong enough to help you… I’ll find some food for you. Just wait right here.”_

_Sakura wasn’t sure if there was anything edible around. Ever since the Juubi was released, every ecosystem had been destroyed and she barely saw any flora or fauna anymore. The reckless lust for power, the never ending war and suffering, and the twisted minds that rose from it all had destroyed every ounce of life. Sakura had never been quite a fan of nature, but she now swore she was one. The buildings and mansions that she would come across meant nothing in comparison to being surrounded by life, food and shade. It was ironic how she only understood how important it all was only after it was mostly destroyed._

_After almost an hour of walking around, Sakura stopped her train of thought when she saw movement on the edge of her vision. She snapped her head just in time to see a middle-sized reptile sneak under a rock. Her eyes widened in shock and she hurried after it, lifting the rock just in time before it crawled into the ground. Her free hand caught its tail and lifted it, then her other hand took a hold of its head in a death grip. She had to make sure she’d avoid getting bitten – many reptilians in that area had poisonous saliva – and thus be forced to waste more energy in extracting the poison._

_Sakura quickly cut the head off the animal and then hurried back to the place that she’d left the woman. She gathered some firewood, settling it in front of her, and then light it. Sakura swiftly gutted the animal and then took out the useful muscles and organs. Once it was all roasting over the flames, Sakura turned to talk to the silent woman. After about twenty minutes of light conversation about their pasts – as much of a conversation that could be held by two famished women anyways – Sakura found out that the lady had lost her family when the Juubi attacked their village and that she’d been stuck there with a broken leg ever since. Sakura also told her about her time as a Konoha shinobi, and had a feeling that the woman didn’t fully trust shinobi._

_“Don’t worry.” She’d told her. “Konoha shinobi are not criminals.”_

_The woman didn’t say anything, but Sakura could see it in her eyes that she didn’t fully trust her. The woman had probably eaten nothing for over a month, and almost threw up each time she tried swallowing the heavy meat. It was always hard to rehabilitate someone that hadn’t eaten in such a long time._ Especially _without any equipment, medication or help._

 _Sakura stayed with her for some days, and felt like she hadn’t felt for the longest time. Kasumi – the woman – and Sakura honestly didn’t get along particularly well, but feeling another human’s company was more than enough for both. Sakura was thrilled and relieved to have someone by her side, to have someone to talk to. However, things were not looking good for Kasumi; Sakura had found her severely famished a couple days back, but right now she could_ feel _her organs beginning to collapse. To her frustration, it was something that her chakra could not heal when the body was so weak. She wanted Kasumi to eat what was left of the reptile she’d hunted a couple days back. Sadly, the meat had gotten so bad that it became impossible to eat. It had taken on a green aspect and Sakura swore that there were fly eggs somewhere next to the fat._

_“I… I’m not eating that… thing… anymore.” Kasumi was refusing to eat. Sakura understood her, she really did. After all, the stench of the meat could now be felt from at least a meter away._

_“I understand. But there’s_ nothing _else out there to hunt, or gather. I haven’t found anything. It’s all_ gone. _” Sakura frowned when the woman didn’t answer and simply stared at the fire that Sakura had built to keep them warm through the night. “Kasumi… your body won’t be able to take the strain anymore. You’ll die if you don’t eat anything.”_

_“…So be it.” She croaked and scoffed, not truly caring about her death anymore._

_“You know… insects are not necessarily harmful to the body.” Sakura tried to persuade her. “In fact, they are quite healthy. I’ve even heard of some far-away cultures that consider them a luxury. Nothing bad would happen to you if you ate.”_

_“Nothing...” Kasumi chocked for a moment and Sakura handed her some water. “Nothing good either…” she clenched her eyes shut as she struggled to talk. “There’s… nothing else… for us here. I’d rather... die.”_

_“We can’t just give up! I can’t give up on you!” Sakura shook her head. “I had a teacher once, you know? She taught me how important human life was, how important it was to help people have a better life. How important it was to help others heal mentally and physically. It’s my_ duty _to help you. I won’t just leave you here to die or watch as it happens!”_

_“You… should also know… when to let someone go…” her voice was barely above a whisper by now, but Sakura heard her just fine._

_“Don’t say that!” Sakura’ eyes were wide in disbelief. “I’m a medic and I have to help you!” The woman said nothing and her eyes simply dropped back to the dusty ground. Sakura felt tears in her eyes and she moved closer to Kasumi to take hold of her hand. “Don’t… don’t leave me.” Sakura’s voice broke and he lower lips trembled._

_“I’m sorry…”_

_“I can’t be alone again… I won’t be able to take it. Someone to spend the days with, no matter how hard it is… makes it all a bit more bearable.”_

_“Don’t you… see?” Kasumi sought whatever strength was still in her as she spoke again. “We’ll… never… regain what we’ve lost…” Sakura clenched her eyes shut and sobbed audibly as the older woman spoke. “I’d rather meet… my baby girl on… the other side…”_

_Kasumi was right… there was nothing for them there. All that remained was death and decay. Sakura would never meet someone dear to her again. Eventually, there will come a time when only she remained alive, since she was the only one with an ability to regenerate her body’s cells. Sakura had been afraid of that day for so long. Every day that she didn’t find any survivors she feared that she might be the last human on earth. Every day that she saw only corpses and human skeletons she was sure that she would never have the pleasure of sharing time with someone of her own species. Damn… even animals would make good company at that moment, but there were also practically none left. However, Sakura was a medic_ and _a shinobi and had accordingly been taught to value life and to never give up._

 _Sakura and Kasumi didn’t speak anymore that night. Sakura fell asleep after a couple hours of restlessness and grief. She woke up the next day to find that the morning seemed much more quiet than usual. However, it was not a good kind of quiet, and it made the pink hairs on the back of her neck stick up. Sakura softly sat up and look to the right to see Kasumi lying on the ground. She got closer, a sense of dread filling her as he noticed how unnaturally_ tense _Kasumi’s body seemed._

_When she stopped next to the woman, she noticed that her eyes were lightly open, but dull. Her breathing had stopped altogether and there was a gray tint on her skin. She had died. There was a smile on her face, but instead of making Sakura feel better, it only deepened her misery._

**-x-**

After speaking with Kakashi over a week ago, she’d decided that she needed to face her memories of the war. She’d so far met with Kakashi twice to talk about what she’d been through in more detail. As she talked to him, more and more memories came back to her. Sakura had been surprised at how many things she’d actually forgotten about that time. She wondered if she usually forgot so many things about her life or if her brain had purposefully locked those memories away because of how much she’d been affected by them.

Along with the memories of the things she’d experienced all those years ago, came the nightmares. They had come almost every night since she’d started remembering her past. It usually had her waking up terrified. She sometimes looked around hastily wondering where she was and only _then_ would she finally remember that she’d gone back in time. However, Sakura still tried to embrace her memories and accept them. She had a feeling that if she didn’t make peace with her past – as much as she could – then she would never heal.

Despite that, this particular day could not be spoiled by _anything,_ definitely not a nightmare. Sakura quickly dismissed her confusion and distress. She rushed out of her bed and took a shower, a hummed song not leaving her lips until she was dried and dressed. Sakura ran down the stairs with a wide smile on her lips and cheerfulness seeping off of her.

“I wish I was as enthusiastic about work as you are, honey.” Kizashi laughed heartily as he finished preparing his sandwich.

“You _are,_ dad.” Sakura rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips.

“Oh, no. Not as much.”

“You would if you were forced to stay away from your workplace for two whole years.”

Kizashi flinched and then hastily nodded. “I definitely would.” he turned to Sakura and hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy for you!”

Sakura laughed and patted him on the back. She quickly put a sandwich together and then walked out of the house, eating her breakfast while she was on her way. As she neared the hospital, the excitement started bubbling within her once again.

She wanted to see everyone! She had barely heard from anyone from the hospital ever since she’d left and had continuously wondered how everyone was doing there. She wondered how Konoha’s hospital was fairing without her. Her shishou was not there anymore, so she doubted that things were as they would’ve been if she’d been there. She did expect some improvement though; Shizune was there after all.  She was not Tsunade and didn’t have her knowledge nor her leadership, but she knew a lot about medical ninjutu and the medical field.

Sakura heartily entered the hallway and smiled at the receptionist. She was happily greeted by her as she turned to the left hallway. Most of the staff that was in the hallway knew Sakura and they all seemed pleased by her return… but Sakura noticed something. The higher ranking the medical staff was, the more tense they seemed. Sakura frowned and wondered if there were some funding issues; she wouldn’t put it past Danzo to cut off their hospital’s resources to stack up the military shinobi forces _even_ more.

However, Sakura soon decided that that wasn’t the case. Each room that she looked into had the latest equipment out there and there were even some technologies that she’d only read about but had never seen until now. Also, the wing that she was walking through had been the oldest one and it had been completely renovated. While the paint on the walls used to be worn out and the lights used to always flicker, the whole place now looked brand new. Apparently, not only had the funding not been cut, but it had been notoriously increased instead.

Sakura frowned at that thought. It didn’t make any sense. Tsunade had always thought of healthcare as one of the most important duties of a village. She always used to say _‘If the people aren’t healthy, then they are not happy, then they can’t work properly and they will complain. The most important pillar for inner stability is healthcare.’_ And yet, this hospital seemed to be in much better shape than Tsunade’s. Sakura truly doubted that Danzo would cut funding from somewhere else – she had _seen_ _firsthand_ how impossible it had been back in her time to do such a thing – and put it into the health system. Where had all the money come from?

Also, if the hospital was not lacking any funding, what was it that had most of the high-ranked staff so rigid? It _could_ be fear of the Akatsuki attacking, but it seemed like a stronger stress than what she’d seen in the rest of the village. Sakura frowned as she walked down another hallway towards the administration. Sakura was surprised to see Shizune walking down her way, who smiled widely when she saw the pinkette.

“Sakura-chan!” she walked faster and stopped right in front of her. “It’s good to see you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” Sakura smiled back and then swirled her finger around. “This place is looking quite good. All high-tech.”

“Oh, yes.” Shizune smiled honestly, but Sakura didn’t miss that there were barely concealed bags under her eyes. “Danzo-sama has been a real help on that matter. He seems to consider healthcare an important part of the village’s responsibilities.”

“Huh?” Sakura raised an eyebrow, not quite believing it, but she kept her face blunt. “That’s good to hear. Anyways, I’m here to see the head medic.”

“Oh, he’s in his office.” Shizune pointed backwards, to the room that once used to be Tsunade’s.

“Thanks!” Sakura waved and walked past her, deciding to momentarily disregard the exhausted look on her former friend. She noticed that the door to the office was open, so she quietly poked her head in when she was at the door.

However, Sakura was not prepared for what she saw. The black haired head medic that she’d known before leaving for Suna was not sitting in the black leather chair. In his stead, there was a much younger man – probably a bit over twenty – sitting with his legs crossed as he read through some medical reports. His hair was long and tied in a low ponytail, its color a silvery gray that she could never _possibly_ forget. His eyes were black and he wore a pair of old fashioned glasses - glasses that she had wanted to break more than once in her previous life. In her mind, she still remembered him as some sort of chimera that had been born out of Orochimaru’s corpse instead of the normal young man in front of her. Nonetheless, there was _no_ mistaking who he was.

_Kabuto? What the hell?!_

Sakura couldn’t hide the shock from appearing in her features. Her whole body froze as she stared into the office with eyes wide as plates. Her jaw was clenched and her hands had tightened into fists. Kabuto didn’t seem to acknowledge the new presence at his door, but Sakura was certain that he knew he had company. To her dismay – or maybe relief – he didn’t appear to have any interest in talking to the newcomer. Sakura finally gathered herself and was about to take a step back when he spoke up, his eyes never leaving the papers in his hand.

“Is there something that you want?”

“I-” Sakura gulped and forced the trembling in her voice to calm down. “I just got back from Suna… I thought I’d come by and announce my return.”

Kabuto’s eyebrows slowly rose and his eyes shot at her suddenly, interest written all over his face. As soon as he saw her, his lips morphed into a toothy grin – which Sakura was a _hundred_ percent certain was fake – and he stood up.

“Oh, yes, yes.” He nodded resolutely as he took two steps towards her. “I’ve heard so much about Haruno Sakura, the genius medic.” Without notice, his arm shot up and took a strong hold of Sakura’s hand and shook it in greeting. “Please to meet you, I’m Yakushi Kabuto. I’ve been head of the hospital for a year and a half, so you probably didn’t know about me.”

Sakura had the almost unbearable urge to slap his hand away and punch his face, but she forced a smile of her own and gulped down the nausea that threatened to rise up her throat. When he finally released her hand, she inwardly sighed in relief at the notion that the bastard was no longer touching her. She fucking hated him so much after all that he’d done in her past life and because of how twisted she knew he was.

“Take a seat.” Kabuto signaled to the smaller armchair that was on the opposite side of the desk.

In a split second, Sakura decided that she couldn’t make any sudden moves and that she had to be very cautious. She immediately complied with his request and took a seat in front of him. Kabuto slowly laid down on the desk the report he’d been reading, his eyes never leaving Sakura.

“Tell me about Suna.”

“Their biggest problem was that their medical staff was not properly trained and that they needed to re-organize the way their hospital worked. The different specialties were in the wrong wings of the building and positioned in a way that they didn’t make good use of the general facilities.” Sakura answered swiftly. “It took a long time to get things running on their own, but I believe that their health system will only continue to improve.”

“And you did all of this by yourself?”

“Hai.”

“I’ve heard that you never had a teacher.”

“It’s true.” Sakura nodded, knowing that there was no use in lying because everyone at the hospital knew her story. “I was first interested in the medical field a couple years before graduating from the academy. I had excellent chakra control, so I figured I could give it a try. So… I started reading a lot and then began applying my abilities on injured animals and then on myself.”

“Impressive.” Kabuto nodded, his glasses glinting with interest as he eyed her. “I’m sure that you will be a great addition to us. For now, I want you to work in the emergency wing, where you will treat urgent cases and help the other medics in there. I know it sounds a bit mundane for someone with _your_ abilities, but you don’t need to worry. I will soon put you up to something _much_ more interesting and that will take your full potential into account. You can go back to work now.”

Sakura nodded in agreement and forced her pace to remain calm as she walked out of the office and into the hallway. As her feet carried her to the emergency room, dread filled her mind and her lower stomach clenched in angst.

Sakura didn’t know _how come_ that Kabuto was still in Konoha at this point. Then again, that wasn’t too unexpected given that he’d not been around when Orochimaru attacked two and a half years ago. Moreover, _how the hell_ he’d become head of the hospital. The head of the hospital had always been appointed by the Hokage ever since the founding of the village. No matter how ruthless Danzo was, Sakura could not bring herself to imagine _why_ he would put a lunatic in that position.

No matter what reason she tried to find for it, there was no way that it would be good. It was definitely not good for the village and it was _most definitely_ not good for her. Sakura was suddenly not only worried about working under Kabuto, but also about that _much_ more interesting work he was planning to give her was.

If instead of hurrying out of Kabuto’s office she’d stopped to take a glimpse behind her, she would’ve seen Kabuto’s lips forming a malicious smirk.

 

**A/N: OK. So, here it is. I know that the first part of the chapter was not too eventful, but I thought that it was necessary to see how Sasuke acted around Sakura and the others. He’s changed a bit – you can see how he actually manages to keep a conversation, even if he’d not the one doing most of the talking – but he still is not too different from what he used to be. Obviously, this is only making things more difficult for Sakura when it comes to figuring him out.**

**Also, _KABUTO_. What do you think about that? What are Kabuto’s intentions? What is his relationship with Danzo? I’d love to hear what you’re thinking in relation to that.**

**Thank you all so much for reading! And extra thanks to those who review! I really appreciate it!**

**Special thanks to my beta MonochromeAce for her help!**


	29. Carried Away

** CHAPTER 29 **

Working at the hospital the last couple weeks had not been as bad as Sakura had expected. She had been mostly at the emergency room and with her hands full. She’d caught a glimpse of Kabuto twice and had moved away to remain unnoticed between patients or other health professionals until he left. She was glad that she had been able to avoid him, but she was well aware that she wouldn’t be able to keep that up for long.

At least, after almost a month in Konoha, Sakura _finally_ managed to pull off a good enough mission report from her time in Suna. She had tried her best to make it as believable as possible, highlighting Suna’s potential so that Danzo would not even consider breaking their alliance. In the end, the whole mission report summed a total of _two hundred_ pages of handwritten intel and observations.

Sakura happily walked towards Danzo’s bunker with her huge report under her arm. Her eyes came upon – for the umpteenth time – the new face of Danzo on the Hokage mountain… which was in the exact place where her shishou’s face had been in her past life. Sakura repressed a scowl at the sight and then decided to just focus on the task at hand.

She entered the huge bunker and walked down the hallways until she was standing in front of Danzo’s office. Sakura hadn’t been in his presence ever since she came back to Konoha and wasn’t sure she was ready to see him once again. Nonetheless, Sakura knocked on his door without a second thought.

_Better get through with this as soon as possible._

“Come in.” a deep voice echoed from the other side of the door and Sakura opened up to enter. She quickly walked a couple steps into the room, noticing that there were the regular two root ANBU individuals standing on each side of Danzo. She also noted that on a further side of the room was Sasuke, who had apparently been reading a jutsu scroll but now had his eyes focused on her.

“Danzo-sama.” Sakura greeted, ignoring the contempt that rose within her.

“State your business, Haruno.”

“Hai.” Sakura nodded once. “I’ve finished the report of my mission to Suna. I’ve been as thorough as possible and included every detail that I considered could make an impression on what they’re doing.” Sakura stopped for a moment and wondered if Danzo would even read it. She considered this for a moment, and decided to add an opinion of her own. “If I may, sir. After all the time I spent there, I really think that Suna is a beneficial alliance to Konoha. On top of all the intel I gathered, the Kazekage seems to be someone who wants to establish long term peace and-”

“Leave the report on my desk.” Danzo snapped and Sakura immediately shut up and did as he said. Before she could think about leaving, Danzo spoke again. “Too bad that we won’t be sure about Suna now.”

“S-sir?” Sakura frowned, but felt apprehension build inside of her. What was he even talking about?

“A messenger bird from Suna came yesterday in the afternoon.” Danzo said with a straight face. “The Kazekage was abducted by the Akatsuki.”

“What?!” Sakura’s eyes widened. She _knew_ that this would happen and she had been preparing for that moment. However, she had actually expected Danzo to send a team right away. Actually, she had expected him to send her because of her connections in Suna. She frowned… maybe Danzo had already taken measures without her finding out about that. “Was a team sent?”

“No.” Danzo said, his voice low and his eyebrows knitted into a frown. She could tell that he was displeased by the way she was speaking to him.

“Why not?” Sakura barely kept her voice from shaking in anger as she tried to gather herself, forcing the rage down and trying to keep from snapping at Danzo. However, that didn’t stop the fear from making her thoughts fuzzy and her heart beat faster. _If Gaara dies because of Danzo’s selfishness…_

“I was still not sure about them.” Danzo answered. “I was not going to risk Konoha shinobi for an ally that could’ve actually been a threat.”

“Sir…” Sakura clenched her fists. “I _assure_ you that they mean well. They’re being honest.” she took a deep breath in and looked at Danzo once again. “ _Please_ send a team, sir. I volunteer to be a part of it. Just… please.”

“ _Why_ is it that you’re so adamant on helping them?” The muscles on Danzo’s face tightened as he narrowed his eyes. He inspected Sakura and she had to bite her lip at the sight; he was truly an intimidating person. “Your village is _not_ Suna. Your loyalites should lie _here._ ”

“It’s to be expected.” Sasuke intervened and Sakura almost jumped in surprise; she’d completely forgotten that he was there. She was honestly relieved to stop being under Danzo’s scrutiny for now. “Sakura was there for two years on a mission to establish peace and it would be a waste of two years of her life if everything ended just like that.” Sasuke stood up swiftly and walked towards Danzo. Sakura had always known that Sasuke held himself in an exceedingly fearless manner, but she couldn’t stop being surprised at how swiftly and confidently he moved and talked around Danzo. “Besides, it could really do more harm than good to make an alliance with another village and deny help on a High Priority Emergency. Not only could Suna hold a grudge against us, but other villages might find out about it and would hinder our possible future interactions. Also, it would be in our best interest to help them out during this moment of need; they’d also be in debt with us.”

By now, Danzo was completely ignoring Sakura and eyeing Sasuke intensely. Sakura squirmed in her place. Would Danzo react badly because of Sasuke’s interruption? She couldn’t help but be slightly afraid for him, but at the same time she tried to appease herself. After all, Sasuke had been on his own with Danzo for over two years and surely knew how to handle himself.

“I never said I intended on not sending any help.” Danzo said and a smirk appeared on his lips. “It would indeed be a bad move to not help them now. However.” Danzo’s eyes trailed back to Sakura. “I would like for my shinobi to answer on their own.”

Sakura gulped. Danzo had clearly been wanting to see how she answered. She didn’t know if it was because he was slightly suspicious about Sakura – he always was suspicious about everyone anyways – or because he had simply wanted to see how she would manage such a situation. He had obviously disliked the way she’d talked to him. Before Sakura could even try to utter ‘Hai’, Danzo turned his head to look back at Sasuke and then spoke up with an authoritative voice.

“Sasuke. Since your own teammate is _volunteering_ for this mission, I’ll assign Team Kakashi for retrieving the Kazekage.” Danzo said as he stood up and handed a folder to Sasuke. “It will work in your favor that Haruno knows her way around Suna and the people who live there. This mission will be A-ranked, might even be S-ranked. I expect the three of you to complete it effectively. Hatake Kakashi will be in charge of this mission, so find him and hand him the folder. I will send a second team that you’re familiar with and they will probably be an hour or so behind you.”

“Hai!” the two of them answered and moved to walk out of Danzo’s office.

“And Haruno.” Danzo said and Sakura froze just as she’d reached the double doors. “Mind your mouth when you’re in my presence.”

“Hai!” Sakura swiftly turned around and bowed lowly, her body tensing at the knowledge that she’d angered him. She truly needed to be more careful. “Forgive me, sir!”

Danzo jerked his head towards the open door, signaling that she was to go, and Sakura immediately left. As soon as the door shut behind them, Sakura exhaled in relief. Being in the presence of that man was something she doubted that she would ever become used to. As she walked down the hallway next to Sasuke, she suddenly felt his eyes on her. She knew he wanted to say something about what had happened in the office, but she was not in the mood so she ignored him – as much as she could anyways.

Her mind was occupied by thoughts of Gaara. The messenger bird had arrived the day _before_ and they were only going to set off now. They were incredibly late. In her past life, Team Kakashi had been sent a whole 18 hours earlier. Would they make it now? Would Gaara die for real this time? She couldn’t get rid of the knot that had built in her stomach. Just as they got to the ground floor and entered the entrance hall, Sasuke spoke up and pulled her from her worries.

“ _Seriously_?” there was an annoyed edge in Sasuke’s voice.

“What…?” Sakura didn’t look at him and walked past the doors and out to the street.

“Is _that_ how you handle yourself in front of the Hokage?” Sasuke’s hand grabbed Sakura’s forearm, expecting her to stop and look at him. She did and she was met with the unexpected view of Sasuke’s stern but worried eyes. He wasn’t really angry at her… he’d been afraid that she would get into a bigger mess. When Sasuke noticed that she wasn’t saying anything else, he spoke once again – his voice not aggressive but still serious. “You’re smarter than that, Sakura.”

“I… I know. I’m…” Sakura frowned. Sasuke was right. She _did_ know how to behave in a more composed and level headed manner. Somehow, Danzo’s presence along with her concern about Gaara hadn’t allowed her to react properly. She understood why Sasuke was not pleased with her and she was honestly slightly impressed by how he always managed to keep his composure. She finally sighed and admitted softly. “I’m just worried.”

“Hey.” Sasuke squeezed her arm softly for a moment before letting her go. His voice was softer than previously and she could tell that he was trying to reassure her. She was proven right when he later added “He’ll be fine. We’ll find him.”

“I… thank you.” Sakura felt a small smile tug on her lips. His gesture had actually helped her relax even if a little.

“I’ll go notify Kakashi, let’s meet at the gates in an hour.”

“Thanks.” Sakura nodded at him and he waved once before leaving her sight.

Sakura immediately went home, forcing all of her worries out of her mind as she packed her travelling pack and her medical supplies. She was more than aware that she could not afford to lose focus and leave something behind. She double-checked that she had what she usually needed and triple-checked that she’d put the antidotes in her medical pouch. She hadn’t been preparing those vials – or trying to remember their composition from back in her past life – during so many hours for nothing. As soon as she was ready she walked down to the first floor of her house and found her mother in the living room. Sakura swallowed the lump that had been on her throat ever since her encounter with Danzo and immediately put on a calm and happy façade.

“You’re leaving on a mission, Sakura?” Mebuki asked.

“Yeah. I probably won’t be back for a week.”

“You seem tense.” Her mother noted. Sakura flinched and then dropped the act. No matter how hard she tried, nothing ever got past her mother. She seemed to know Sakura’s every gesture and note the slightest anomaly in her behavior and body posture. Was it like that with all mothers or was Sakura’s a particularly perceptive one? “Is it a difficult mission?”

“…A-rank.” Sakura said, purposefully hiding the fact that it was most likely S-ranked. There was no point in making her mother worry more than she already would.

Mebuki was not one to worry easily. Sakura had learned that she had an uncanny ability to trust in her daughters abilities and decisions, something that had only gotten more apparent ever since she travelled back in time – which was no wonder given that she acted like a now twenty two year old woman instead of a teenage girl. So, when Sakura saw the faint frown on her mother’s expression, she felt her heart drop to her stomach. She could handle her father being worried, but her mother being worried only made Sakura feel worse about it.

“I see.” Mebuki’s eyes focused on the floor and she exhaled softly. “Be careful.”

“I will. Don’t worry, mom.” Sakura gave her mother a short and tight hug before running out the door and towards the gates.

When she got there, she found that she was the first one. It made her stomach churn in anticipation and impatience. Sakura frowned as she clenched and unclenched her fists as she stepped around in circles. Her mind started whirling around, imagining all the possible scenarios in which Gaara died _permanently_ and she blamed herself her whole life for it.

It’s not that Sakura hadn’t _anticipated_ this day would come, because she’d known for sure that it would. However, since she hadn’t been in Suna at the time she’d had no choice but to let things happen. Despite that, she had at least expected Danzo to send someone out there as soon as the message arrived. …Now that she thought about it, why had she assumed such a thing? Sakura had never thought of Danzo as a selfless person and she was pretty sure that there was no ounce of gentleness inside of him. Sakura knew that there hadn’t been much she could’ve done without raising suspicion – something that with her luck she’d probably managed anyways – but she still couldn’t help but feel _useless_. Useless because she’d _known_ about the attack but hadn’t been able to say a thing. Useless because she had not done anything to encourage Danzo to take action earlier. Useless because Gaara was in danger and she was _standing around_ at the gates of Konoha.

Every five seconds, Sakura would glance back into the village and huff in exasperation.

_Damn! Where are they? They better hurry!_

Sakura felt the urge to run out of there and fetch her team mates at once. However and despite her anxiousness, she was able to realize that she was _actually_ over reacting. Sadly, there was not much she could do about it when worry was eating her alive. Soon enough – only five minutes after she’d arrived – Sasuke and Kakashi flash-stepped in front of her.

“What took you so long?” she asked with barely hidden annoyance.

“We were supposed to meet half an hour from now, Sakura.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but Sakura simply frowned in return. She was obviously in too much of a hurry to actually care about anything else. “I already briefed Kakashi on our mission and he read the folder Danzo-sama handed to us.”

“Good.” Sakura said and shortly nodded once at Kakashi in greeting. “Let’s go then.”

Sakura didn’t wait for their reply as she turned around and ran out of the village. The rest of her team followed, Kakashi with rolled eyes and a sweat drop on his temple. Sasuke didn’t seem particularly bothered by her actions, and simply followed without another word.

Sasuke had known Sakura ever since they were twelve and he’d seen her going through all kinds of situations. He liked to think that he knew her well enough. And it was truly something when she reacted like that. He had only seen it a handful of times; when Orochimaru was after them in the forest of death, when she snapped at Naruto after Tsunade’s death, and just before she left to Suna on her long term mission.

Sasuke threw her a couple glances as they dashed through the trees on Konoha’s lush green forests. He noticed that she was looking ahead with a lost look in her eyes, barely acknowledging her surroundings. Her face was blank and void of any expressions, and Sasuke immediately knew what was in her mind. If she were to be worrying or imagining future scenarios there would be a small frown on her face – at the very least. So, given the lack of expression, the only plausible reason he could think was for her to be remembering something.

Sasuke assumed that she was thinking about the Kazekage. He could tell that she’d become close to Gaara – he still didn’t know _how_ close though – and assumed that her edgy demeanor would remain intact during the whole mission. Sasuke hated to think this way, because he could relate to what she was feeling. But her emotions may prove to be an issue, because it could put all three of them in danger.

**-x-**

_“Sakura.”_

_Gaara’s voice greeted her without turning around to see if it was actually her, since he probably could recognize her presence while asleep. The young Kazekage was sitting on top of the tower and looking down at Suna, that was currently covered by the red light of dusk. Sakura quietly approached him and sat down at his side. After a couple moments she decided to take a look at him. She was surprised to notice that there was an unusual softness in his eyes and that it seemed almost vulnerable instead of gentle._

_“What happened?”_

_“It’s… village issues.” Gaara answered without meeting her eyes. There had been an unspoken rule of never speaking about their respective villages’ issues ever since they met. It had somehow made it easier for them to not take any gambles when it came to their responsibilities to their respective homes._

_“Gaara.” Sakura spoke softly and her hand came to rest on his shoulder. “I can tell that there’s more to it. If you want to talk about it… you can trust me, you know? ”_

_Gaara stayed silent for a long while, his eyes taking in the scenery of his hometown. Sakura looked at him for another moment and then finally decide to simply sit by his side in silent support. She had assumed that he wouldn’t speak about what was on his mind, but she was wrong. After a good two minutes of silence, Gaara spoke once again._

_“It’s the council.” His voice was small, almost a whisper. Probably afraid that he would be overheard and that the council would give him another headache. “They’re… not fond of me.”_

_“It’s because of the Shukaku, isn’t it?” Sakura voiced out her guess in an equally faint voice. They had talked about the beast a couple times before, so it was not an uncomfortable subject between them._

_“It is.”  Gaara sighed, his troubling expression deepening after admitting what it was all about. “After almost two years of leadership, I’ve come to realize that I’m_ not _the leader of this village. It’s just… a façade. The council doesn’t trust me. They are afraid of me and probably hate me. I’m positive that they only allowed me to become Kazekage so that they could keep me under a tighter surveillance.”_

_“Maybe that’s true…” Sakura trailed off. “But you shouldn’t let it pull you down. You’re still the leader of the village, no matter what they think of you.”_

_“I’m not_ truly _the leader. It’s all fake!” Gaara scowled and closed his eyes tightly, his hands closing into fists at his sides. “I’m just a puppet for them… they just want the people to be content because of who my father was. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to make changes or plan programs for our village or our shinobi system? Countless times… and they’ve been in vain_ each time. _They are not giving me any space to do anything.”_

 _“You’re the Kazekage as far as everyone knows, and if you earn their respect and admiration, the council will have no choice but to acknowledge you as the rightful leader. You have to prove to everyone that you are just as capable of looking after Suna as each Kazekage before you. Prove that you’re_ better, _because you are. Prove that you are the rightful leader and then the council will have no choice but to listen to you.”_

_“Sakura…” Gaara’s eyes softened and his hand softly touched Sakura’s for a moment before retreating back. “You’re the only one who trusts me like this. Not even my own siblings do. Actually, it’s not fair when you talk like this. I feel forced to try even harder when I know you expect so much of me.”_

_“I’ve had an advantage.” Sakura waved him off. “I got to know you when you were already Kazekage. It’s expected that I would have an easier time trusting you.”_

_“No, you didn’t.” Gaara shook his head and Sakura raised an eyebrow in question. “Back at the chuunin exams. I noticed that, ever since we first met, you hadn’t been afraid of me. When you escorted us back to Suna, you were the only person in the whole party who wasn’t even the slightest fearful of me. It was a slight difference, but after being around people who feared me all my life it was easy to know. Already back then you seemed to be the only one who saw me as an equal, as a person. It made me actually wonder if I could get to other people as well.” Gaara was quiet for a moment. “Why? Why weren’t you ever afraid of me?”_

_“I…” Sakura knew that it was mainly because she’d known him from her previous life. However, she was also aware of another reason of why she’d quickly accepted his reality. “I guess it’s because I was friends with Naruto already. I guess it helped me not fear the power within you and see beyond the control that the Shukaku had over you.”_

_“All of that. You treating me like an equal, trusting me, not fearing me…” Gaara’s voice was a hushed whisper by now. “It’s meant more than you can imagine.”_

_Sakura smiled and her eyes locked with his. There was a glossy glint in his eyes and Sakura wondered if Gaara was going to cry, but he simply smiled in a genuinely grateful manner and then put one of his arms around her. Sakura simply leaned into his shoulder and sighed in happiness. After a couple minutes, she felt Gaara shuffling next to her and she moved back as he retreated his arm. Sakura watched as he pulled his sleeve upwards and revealed a small thread knotted wrist-band on his wrist. He slowly and carefully removed it, took Sakura’s hand and placed it on her open palm._

_“I know that you’re leaving in a week... but I think I’m going to give you this now.” He said with a small smile on his lips. “It’s something that I’ve been wearing for most of my life and I want you to have it.”_

_“What?” Sakura’s eyes widened. There was no way Gaara could give her something so meaningful. They were good friends… but to give such a gift… it felt as if Sakura was stealing from him. “I couldn’t!”_

_“I want to give this to you.”_

_“I…” Sakura frowned for a moment and looked into Gaara’s determined eyes. He wanted to give it to her… and she suddenly realized that it would be much more unkind for her to refuse. Deciding that she would actually like having something from him in case they didn’t meet for a long time, Sakura accepted the gift as she closed her hand around it. A smile stretched on her lips. “Thanks.”_

_“Want me to…?” Gaara motioned at the item on her hand._

_“Oh, yeah! Go ahead.”_

_Sakura stretched her arm forward as Gaara tied the wrist-band around her arm. Gaara seemed deep in thought as he slowly and patiently put it around her own arm. When he finished, Sakura noticed that his hand lingered there wrapped around her wrist for a couple seconds longer than it should have. Despite that, Sakura didn’t think about it and enjoyed peaceful atmosphere as much as she could._

_At that moment she hadn’t thought much of it, but when she parted ways with him that day she started speculating. Had the gift truly been a token of their friendship? He had never said it was. Sakura didn’t like reading too much into things – something she usually did anyways – but she couldn’t help but wonder if it had meant something more to him._

_There was a lingering feeling that something had remained unsaid that day, but neither Gaara nor her mentioned the gift again._

**-x-**

Sakura had been worried to death about Gaara. They had taken off a whole 18 hours later than in her previous life, so at first it had seemed impossible for them to reach the Akatsuki and Gaara on time.

The first time Gaara had been abducted, Team 7 had gotten to Suna first and had healed Kankuro before departing once again. Thankfully, this time Chiyo had learned from Sakura how to extract poison with water and chakra, so Sakura wasn’t particularly worried about that. Also, Sakura now had something of Gaara’s and that it probably would be enough to track down his scent and find the hideout.

The problem was that in her previous life, Chiyo and Naruto had been present while Sasuke hadn’t. It didn’t only mean that they would have to fight with one less shinobi, but it also meant that the outcome could be different from last time because the Kyuubi was not there at all. It would be safer to have more manpower with them when they encountered the Akatsuki, but Sakura didn’t want to risk getting to Gaara too late.

Sakura had been hoping that they would somehow travel faster and get to Suna in time to get reinforcement and go back to Gaara, but she had finally accepted that they simply had _not enough_ time. Actually, Sakura wasn’t even sure that they would get there before the extraction ended. After considering all her options for a while, Sakura decided that the best course of action would be to head towards the hideout immediately. As Team Kakashi leapt from tree to tree, she turned her head to the silver haired man.  

“Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura called, purposefully adding the suffix in front of Sasuke, and the whole team stopped at once.

“What is it?” Kakashi asked turning to face her.

“I have something of Gaara on me.” She took her wrist-band off and gave it to Kakashi. “I think that it should still have some of his scent.”

“Let’s give it a try.” Kakashi said and did a couple hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

“Huh? What is it?” Pakkun frowning face appeared after the smoke dissipated. “This better be important because I was in the middle of a meal.”

Kakashi started explaining the situation and the Ninken immediately sniffed on the wrist-band. He frowned in confusion and then moved to Sakura and sniffed her too. Sakura assumed that her scent had become mixed with Gaara’s and that Pakkun needed to smell her too in order to separate both scents. He moved back towards the item and took in the scent one last time. He finally nodded.

“All right. Let me see if I can find it.” Pakkun announced and then took a couple steps back to start sniffing the air around them.

“Sakura.” Sasuke’s deep voice sounded from behind Sakura and she turned around to look at him. His eyes were boring into her own, but she could see that there was a concerned glint in them. “You should focus more.”

“I...” Sakura frowned and tightened her fists. “I know I should. I’m just too worried… I can’t help it.”

“Emotions shouldn’t get in the way of a mission.”

“I _know_ that.” Sakura barely kept herself from snapping at him, but his eyebrows slightly rose meaning that he could sense her frustration. Sakura knew that Sasuke was right and that he was only pointing it out so that she would have a better performance. She took a deep sigh in to clear her thoughts a bit. She didn’t really think that she would be unable to fight though… it was just travel for such a long time that allowed her mind to drift off to her concern. “Don’t worry, they won’t get in the way when the time comes.”

“I found him.” Pakkun appeared in front of them before Sasuke could say anything else.

Pakkun took off and swiftly moved through the trees at a fast speed, closely followed by the Konoha shinobi. In a rare moment of clarity, Sakura inwardly wondered why she’d never questioned how come a being with such short legs could run that fast. However, her bliss was soon over when the thought was forgotten and her worries came back.

They leapt through the forest for the rest of the day and Sakura had been drifting in and out of her musings all along. Every once in a while, she would look at Kakashi and Sasuke and then take a moment to sense their surroundings.

When it was soon to be dawn, Sakura allowed her chakra to spread for a moment and almost jumped when she sensed a flicker of chakra just a couple trees ahead. Sakura was aware that things could turn out ugly, but they were too close now and she was sure that the encounter would be inevitable anyways.

Team 7 jumped down into a clearing and they all stopped dead in their tracks. In the middle of a clearing, dressed with a black cloak with read clouds, was Itachi. His posture was relaxed, but his whole attention was clearly directed at them. Sakura felt Kakashi curse under his breath to her right, and could feel Sasuke’s shock to her left. Pakkun walked a couple steps back, knowing that a difficult battle would soon engage.

“ _Itachi!_ ” Sasuke’s roared next to Sakura and she frowned. She remembered that Itachi had been a clone in her past life and quickly allowed her chakra to spread. She felt his chakra signature of the Akatsuki member in front of her, but it felt slightly truncated. It was barely different from the one she’d come to know and probably no one would’ve felt the difference, but Sakura did. It was a clone.

“Little brother.” Itachi’s low voice was soft when he locked eyes with Sasuke.

The hairs on the back of Sakura stood at how angry Sasuke’s chakra felt next to her. Based on Kakashi’s shift of posture, he was suddenly also very aware of the younger Uchiha’s reaction as well. Sakura’s sensitivity on chakra had truly developed a lot ever since the war and she was extremely uncomfortable standing next to Sasuke at this point. One part of her was screaming at her to either run away or attack him, while the more rational one was aware that he was her ally.

Without wasting another second, Sasuke jumped forwards, his hands making signs at huge speed. Three steps later, he was blowing a huge fire ball from between his fingers. Itachi was apparently caught in the attack, but he soon jumped through the flames and aimed a kick at Sasuke, who had been standing to close to the fire.

Sakura immediately jumped into action, and as Sasuke blocked Itachi’s attack, she came from behind him with a chakra enhanced punch. Itachi’s sharingan caught the unusual amount of energy in her first and he swiftly moved out of the way, simultaneously throwing Sasuke towards Sakura. Sakura’s eyes widened and she managed to retreat her fist just in time to avoid cracking Sasuke’s ribs, but instead he crashed on her and they almost fell before regaining their footing.

Kakashi had engaged Itachi in a taijutsu battle, both throwing attacks back and forth and their sharingans blazing as they caught each other’s movements. However, Sakura could see that Kakashi’s movements were slower and he barely dodged some of the attacks, which meant that Itachi would get the upper hand anytime.

Sakura tried to lock eyes with Sasuke, but he didn’t seem to be even aware of her presence, his whole attention on his older brother. _Damn it, Sasuke._ Instead, she locked eyes with Kakashi who had just jumped back panting, and he immediately got her message. Sakura took out several senbon out of her pouch and jumped high in the air before throwing them at Itachi, a move which was obviously read by his eyes and was blocked with his kunai. However, Sakura had planned for this to be a mere distraction, and Kakashi was behind Itachi the next second. He aimed a kick as this back, but Itachi managed to turn around in time to block the attack. Despite that, he didn’t move in time to remain on his feet and slightly stumbled backwards.

Sasuke took the chance when he saw it and jumped at Itachi as he finished the hand signs.

“Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!”

A huge dragon made of fire was summoned and it started circling around Itachi and Kakashi. Sakura’s eyes widened, noting that their sensei was still there. In a split second she molded her chakra into threads, which got stuck to the jonin that had been running away from the flames. Sakura pulled with all her might to get Kakashi away from there in time. Just before she managed to get him out of the ring of fire, Itachi threw a kunai at Kakashi. Sakura’s eyes widened; they were too far apart for her to do anything about it and Kakashi was tied up in her chakra threads and wouldn’t be able to block it. Thankfully, Kakashi’s sharingan read its path and he shifted in order to avoid a fatal wound to his neck. When he managed to land safely next to Sakura – apart from the kunai imbedded deeply into his shoulder – anger bubbled inside of her and she jerked her head towards the younger Uchiha.

“ _Sasuke!_ ” she snarled. “You almost burnt Kakashi too!”

If Sasuke heard her complain, he didn’t give any indication of doing so and instead ran in a circle around the fire dragon. He was clearly trying to take Itachi down at _all_ costs, something that she hadn’t seen him do in this timeline. Sakura clenched her fists and spoke to Kakashi without turning to look at him.

“Stay there and don’t take that kunai out.”

Sakura took off after Sasuke and squinted her eyes in order to see if Itachi was still in there. She saw that the ring of fire had faded on one side and that Sasuke was running into it. Cursing, she followed at top speed and peeked into the enclosed space. Sasuke and Itachi were throwing punches and kicks at top speed, a speed that Sakura knew she wouldn’t be able to read in time to respond. After all, she was the only one in there without a sharingan.

Sakura knew what she was supposed to do, but she couldn’t do it when Sasuke was in and out of her way constantly. She took out several senbon and held them in between the fingers of one hand. On her other hand, materialized her chakra strings once again and carefully attached them to Sasuke’s back. Sakura threw her poison imbedded senbon at Itachi and, just before they reached their target, she pulled Sasuke to the left and away from Itachi.

Itachi’s eyes widened at the sudden movement and he moved at a fast speed. However, Sakura had been expecting his speed and had only moved Sasuke away when the needles had been less than a meter away from Itachi, so one of the senbons got stuck in his thigh.

Sasuke landed behind Sakura and she could _feel_ his eyes glaring daggers into her back, because he had obviously not liked being pulled away like that. She blatantly ignored him and ran at Itachi, chakra coating her fists. Sakura was on him in the next second and aimed a punch at his face. She knew he would block – because he was just too fast – and when he did, she twisted her hand and took a hold of his wrist. Her other hand did the same with his other one, chakra flowing carefully through her muscles, making her strength too much for him to break out of her hold. Sakura felt Itachi narrow his eyes at her – because she was most certainly not looking into them – and his hands caught her forearms. She was suddenly flipped around so that he was bending down to her and she was on her knees.

Sakura heard Sasuke running towards them from behind her – and she could feel his chakra flaring in something that no longer seemed angry, but was just as intense – and she decided that it was now or never. Sakura tilted her head upwards in a movement that would’ve seemed like she was trying to overpower him, and spoke into his ear just loud enough for him to hear.

“I need to talk to you about Madara.” Sakura whispered, hoping that the original Itachi would get her message. “Find me on our way back to Konoha.”

She assumed that Itachi must’ve heard her, but he didn’t flinch, freeze or give any other indication that he had. Sakura pushed chakra into her legs, stood up and turned them around. Itachi was still holding on to Sakura, but he was now in between her and Sasuke. Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura, understanding clear in them, and he nodded. He then unsheathed a tanto sword that had been strapped to his back and jerked it to his right.

“Chidori Nagashi!” He scowled with barely contained anger and sparks started gathering around his sword.

Itachi’s eyes widened when he realized what Sasuke was going to do. He tried to break free from Sakura’s hold, but she pushed more chakra into them to keep him in place. When Sasuke was closer, she pushed chakra to her feet and then swirled Itachi around. She let go of him in Sasuke’s direction, and Sasuke raised his tanto sword.

Itachi took out a kunai out and slashed along Sasuke’s arm, just as he stabbed Itachi’s lower stomach with his tanto sword. Sasuke’s eyes widened in shock at the fact that he had actually managed to lethally injure Itachi. He then yanked his sword out of his brother and kicked him on the stomach, a low growl emitting from his throat. Itachi landed a couple feet away from Sasuke and Sakura immediately rushed to see him, a sudden and irrational fear that he had been the real one settling in.

“Sakura!” Sasuke called as he ran to her, probably distrusting the fact that Itachi had seemed to fall so easily. He came up from behind her and then looked down at his brother’s body… which was _not_ Itachi. “What…?”

“He’s a fake.” Kakashi said stopping on Sakura’s other side and looking at the foreign man’s face. “No wonder. He was too easy to beat.”

Sakura nodded absentmindedly, her eyes darting between Sasuke and the fake body. Sasuke’s eyes were wide and staring down at who should’ve been his brother. Sakura could _see_ the frustration building up inside of him, tightening the muscles on his face and neck. After a couple seconds of tense silence, Sasuke turned around sharply and violently flung his tanto sword towards the forest.

“ _FUCK!_ ”

Sakura frowned and turned around to watch Sasuke as he kneeled on the ground. His whole body was tense and he was panting slightly from emotional strain, so Sakura decided not to bother him. She turned towards Kakashi and put her hand on his injured shoulder softly.

“Let me take a look at this.”

“Aa.”

Kakashi and Sakura sat on the ground and she started healing the muscles that joined his neck and the back of his shoulder. As she healed him, she slowly took out the kunai that was deep in his shoulder, trying to prevent Kakashi from losing any more blood. The both were quiet as she worked on him, their eyes purposefully avoiding Sasuke to give him some privacy. Despite that, Sakura couldn’t help but throw a glance or two at him, concerned about his current state of mind.

Obviously, Sasuke would be affected. This had been the first time he’d encountered Itachi ever since the day of Danzo’s appointment as Hokage… at least according to Sakura’s knowledge. Not just that, but he had probably thought for a moment that he had a chance at killing him. In the end it had turned out to be a mere clone.

“Sakura.” Kakashi called out to her. “Leave the wound like that.”

“I’m not done.”

“I know.” Kakashi turned around and took a hold of her wrist. “I can tell that it’s a complicated wound and you still have to heal Sasuke. You suffering from chakra exhaustion will not do us any good if we want to get to Gaara in time. I’ll be able to move around just fine like this.”

Sakura took another look at this half healed wound. It still needed treatment, but it probably wouldn’t bleed even if he moved a lot. She finally nodded and stood up, wanting to heal Sasuke next.

“We better set up camp.” Kakashi mentioned looking at the red colored sky. “I’ll get some firewood.”

“Ok.”

Sakura walked towards where Sasuke was sitting on the floor. His body seemed now slightly more relaxed than before, his elbows propped on his bent knees. His back was more curved than usual, signaling weariness and surrender. Sakura slowly sat down on his right side, where his injured arm was, and turned to look at his face. His eyes were down cast and there was an unusual shadow under them… he looked defeated.

Sakura looked at his injured arm and decided that Sasuke had been too reckless. She had kind of expected him to, but she was still a bit irked about it. His recklessness had still left their team in a bigger disadvantage for when it came to fight against Sasori and Deidara. If things went wrong and if their injuries got in the way.. maybe Gaara would die. Maybe _they_ would die. Sakura forced the ugly thoughts away, but was not successful and felt nervousness build at the base of her stomach. Deciding that she needed a distraction, she turned to look at Sasuke again.

“Hey.” She spoke softly, but he didn’t answer. She quietly decided to put her hands on his arm and then allowed her healing chakra to flow into him. They were silent for a while.

“I really thought…” Sasuke trailed off, his voice small.

“I know.” Sakura whispered. Another minute of silence passed as she thought over his actions. He had been too reckless and had acted on his own, putting their mission as risk. “If you ever encounter him… you should rely more on your team mates.”

“No.” Sasuke answered immediately. “I can accept some help… but this is _my_ revenge.”

“Sasuke, we just want to help. You can’t honestly expect us to stand by and watch you fight an S-class criminal on your own.” Sakura frowned.

“Well, I’m not asking for your help.” Sasuke clicked his tongue. “For example, you pulling me out of the way with chakra threads was out of place.”

“ _Out of place_?” Sakura gaped at him; she couldn’t believe how proud he was. “I was only pulling you out of the way because I didn’t want you to get poisoned!”

“I didn’t need you to do that! I didn’t need any of you to risk your lives in this fight!” Sasuke glared at the ground, his frustration from the previous events still present.

“This mission was assigned to our _team_ and we’re supposed to complete it as a one!” Sakura hissed and her hands unconsciously stopped healing Sasuke’s arm. “Besides, it’s not all right for _us_ to risk our lives in this fight, but it’s all right for _you_ to risk Kakashi’s like that?”

“I knew he would get out of there in time.”

“You didn’t know that, Sasuke.” Sakura tried to keep her anger at bay. Not only was her mind filled with worries from their upcoming fight when they got to Gaara. The thought of Sasuke disregarding the lives of his team for his revenge only reminded her of when he’d almost killed Karin in order to get his revenge on Danzo. “If I hadn’t intervened he might’ve gotten caught in the fire jutsu with Itachi.”

“I couldn’t just let the chance pass.” Sasuke snapped and his whole body turned to face Sakura, conflict clear in his demeanor. “This was a risky fight from the start! He was right there!”

“Would you let me die then?”

“…What?” Sasuke’s scowl melted from his face and was replaced by confusion.

“Would you let me die if it meant killing Itachi?” Sakura couldn’t keep her voice from rising. Her mind filled with the memories of the day that Sasuke had attempted to kill her, the day that he had betrayed his team and lost his sanity over revenge. Was _this_ Sasuke truly that different?

“What the _fuck_ are you talking about, Sakura?!” Sasuke growled.

“What would you have done if Kakashi had gotten lethally injured? Or I had?” Sakura jerked her arm to the side in an annoyed gesture. “Would it have been worth it? And this man wasn’t even Itachi!”

“I _know_ that already!”

“You don’t get the point!” Sakura snapped. “You’re just allowing your feelings to get the best of you! You’re endangering the mission!” _And Gaara’s survival…_

“How am I supposed to _not_ be emotional about this?! You would _never_ understand!” at this point, Sasuke was uncharacteristically yelling.

“Well, I think that you should learn to follow your own advice.” Sakura finished her sentence and then became aware of how she was acting. Her own worries about Gaara – a good friend that might _die_ that day – and her fear of Sasuke turning out just like in her past life had gotten the best of her.

Sakura’s shoulders dropped and her eyes softened a bit. Sasuke’s eyes were wide as he looked down at her with something that seemed like disbelief and disappointment. Sakura was about to say something else, but Sasuke exhaled loudly in anger before standing up and stomping away from her.

Sakura remained on her sitting position for another minute or two. Her hands ripped up the grass and left it in piles next to her sides. She didn’t remember ever having such an argument with Sasuke, and it only deepened her troubles. She finally stood up and walked to where Kakashi had set up camp. The jonin was sitting cross-legged on the ground next to the fire where a couple of fish were cooking. Sasuke was sitting on the other end, his body posture screaming for everyone to leave him alone and his eyes fixated on the fire as he slowly ate his food.

The meal was quiet, tension clear in the air. Sakura wondered if Kakashi had heard their exchange, because he seemed to know that something had happened between the two of them. He said nothing though, probably knowing that he needed to let his students figure it out on their own. After excruciating long minutes, the three of them had finished their dinner. Sakura put the fire out and then offered to take the first watch. Sasuke immediately said that he would take the _last_ watch, which Sakura took as a clear indication that he didn’t want to talk to her at all – not even while changing shifts.

When Kakashi and Sasuke were dozing inside their sleeping bags, Sakura wrapped herself tighter in her own. After worrying about Gaara and their upcoming encounter for a while, her mind went over Sasuke’s general reaction to the subject of Itachi and his revenge. If that day’s events were any evidence, Sasuke was probably not ready to know the truth about the massacre. If he were to find out that Danzo – his _mentor_ – had planned the whole massacre and that his brother was just a pawn… another _victim_ … he would probably lose his mind. She didn’t even want to think about what he would do against the Hokage or the village if it came to that.

 

**A/N: OK! So here’s the chapter. It’s the first part of the mission to retrieve the Kazekage… what did you think about it?**

**What about Danzo? What about Sakura’s feelings regarding the kidnapping of Gaara? Her flashback? What about the fight against Itachi? Her argument with Sasuke afterwards? I want to hear _everything_! Your input and support always makes my day!**

**Anyways, thank you all for reading! And special thanks to MonochromeAce for revising the chapter so fast!**


	30. Sealed Base

** CHAPTER 30 **

“Sakura.”  A hand shook her awake. She sleepily forced one eye open and glanced up to see Kakashi towering over her. “It’s already morning.”

“Ok. Thanks.” Sakura said with a raspy voice, drowsiness still settled in her features. She slowly stretched her body and then stole a glance at Sasuke, who was sitting on the other side of the clearing with his back towards her. It was an unspoken custom for the person on the last watch to wake the rest of the team, but apparently Sasuke still didn’t want to talk to her and had asked Kakashi to wake her.

Sakura did her travelling wake-up routine and rolled her sleeping bag and put everything she had into her travelling pack. She then took a gulp of water out of her bottle and stood up. She walked to the center of the clearing, where the fire had been set last night. Sakura sat down next to Kakashi and offered him an energy bar for breakfast. He thanked her quietly and received the food. Sasuke stood up nonchalantly and sat down on the other side of the burnt coal. His eyes were intently looking at the ashes in front of him, avoiding looking at his team mates. Sakura watched him for a moment with a frown, immediately noticing his lousy attitude which meant that he was still upset from their exchange last night. Apart from that she could feel Kakashi’s eyes on both of them, a faint hum leaving his lips that Sakura wouldn’t have caught if she hadn’t been sitting so close to him. After another moment of silence Kakashi suddenly spoke up.

“Both of you.” His voice was stern, which only meant that he was talking business. Sasuke and Sakura looked at the jonin with interest. “We have an S-class mission ahead, so you better fix whatever’s going on that might ruin our team work.”

Before they could say anything else, Kakashi stood up and left the fireplace to put his sleeping bag away. She sighed and stood up to walk closer to where Sasuke was sitting. She stopped on his right and bent her knees to get to his level. She watched him for a moment, expecting him to meet her eyes but he never did, and she sighed.

“You know, Kakashi is right.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” Sasuke said curtly. “Our team work will be fine as usual.”

Sakura noticed how he didn’t deny that they weren’t on the best of terms, but she definitely realized that he didn’t consider their argument as something in need of fixing. Sakura wasn’t so sure about that, because Sasuke was still refusing to meet her eyes and that could prove to be fatal when fighting an enemy – teamwork was all about reading your team mates thoughts. Then again, Sasuke was not an easy person to deal with – especially when it came to Itachi – and Sakura decided that trying to talk things now could make everything worse. And if there was something that they _didn’t_ have, it was spare time to lose on an endless conversation.

Sakura’s eyes trailed towards Sasuke’s arm, where his half-healed wound was still visible, and moved her arm to heal him. However, before she could even summon her chakra, Sasuke pulled away from her and left to pack his own stuff. Sakura groaned in frustration at his stubbornness. She was not the most patient person, and seeing Sasuke act like a brat – in vain she tried to remember that he was still sixteen while she was actually twenty-two – had her itching to give him a piece of her mind. However, knowing that Gaara was in need of their help stopped any attempts to do so.

“We need to leave.” Sakura almost barked, standing up and walking to her traveling pack. However, she stopped suddenly and turned around harshly when she felt four foreign chakra signatures approaching at a fast rate.

Kakashi and Sasuke seemed to notice that she’d picked up something and they raised their guards. However, before they could scatter around into the trees, Kakashi raised his hand signaling that they weren’t in danger. A couple seconds later, the four shinobi landed in front of them.

“Ahhhh! Kakashi-kun! It’s good to see your youthful team around here!” Gai sensei flashed a huge toothy grin and made a thumbs-up.

“Ah. Gai.” Kakashi greeted with a bored tone and a mocking roll of his eyes. His hand made a quick motion to greet the rest of team Gai.

Sakura quickly greeted Ten-ten, Lee and Neji, while Sasuke simply nodded at them as a gesture. Lee was the most animated amongst them all, maybe expect for his teacher. Gai stepped closer to Kakashi and took another look around.

“Has someone from Suna contacted you?” he asked with a frown. “Why is no one from Suna here?”

Sakura felt her stomach tighten, sadness engulfing her; of course no one from Suna was here. The higher ups had no interest in Gaara and were probably pretty happy that the Jinchuriki had been kidnapped. No person with actual power in that village would ever be worried about their Kazekage. Not even Chiyo, who Sakura had been close to, but had still refused to accept a ‘brat’ as her Kage. Suddenly it hit her; Chiyo didn’t need to want to help _Gaara_ to go their way. Sakura knew that _she_ was a good enough excuse for the old lady, because of how close the two were. Sakura wished for a moment that she’d considered that idea last night, but then decided to stop regretting and start doing something.

“I have a contact in Suna.” Sakura said. “Let me send a message… let’s just hope that we’re still on time.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Kakashi nodded.

“I need the location though.”

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” Kakashi invoked Pakkun, who told Sakura the rough location of Gaara’s scent.

Sakura immediately wrote it down on a scroll along with a short message to her older friend. Tenten summoned Kamatari, assuring her that the weasel was one of the fastest summons in the Fire Country. Sakura attached the scroll to its neck and then informed the animal where it was supposed to deliver the message. After Kamatari left, Pakkun lead Team Kakashi and Team Gai west.

“We’ll arrive to the place in around four hours.” The ninken announced.

Sakura’s arms tightened firmly at her sides; they would get there just before noon. Sakura remembered exactly at what time of the day Team Kakashi had gotten to Gaara in her past life and it had been sharply at noon. However, she had no certainty that in this time line the events would occur exactly the same way. There was no guarantee that Gaara would still be alive when they got there.

However, even though she’d expected to become increasingly worried as they neared the Akatsuki, Sakura found that she became increasingly focused. Her whole being – body, mind, emotions – were fixated on the task at hand and she was actually itching to get there and fight. She even felt the urge to push forward in advance of the rest of her team, but thankfully knew better than to do that. She would get to the Akatsuki, she would fight Sasori – or whoever tried to top her – and she would _win._ Her eyes were determined and shone with strength as she looked ahead, not once looking at her sides or at the rest of her team.

Sasuke had been avoiding looking at Sakura ever since last night. He had been _so upset_ with her. Sasuke had never been open with his feelings, not one bit and not with anyone. However, if there had been someone that he had actually shared some of his inner turmoil with, it had been Sakura. If there was _someone_ that he had expected to understand his actions, it had been her. The fact that she’d confronted him about them had been unexpected… and the fact that she’d been so straightforward about it had been even more.

However, after years of taking care of himself and living on his own, Sasuke had learned to take a second look at his own actions. He was well aware that he had made a mistake with Kakashi that day and had risked his teacher’s life. And afterwards, he had been reckless when facing his brother and had gotten injured. Sasuke knew _all_ of that and had unconsciously decided to talk to his team afterwards, but when the time came he had been so frustrated. The feeling of failure, disappointment and anger had burnt a hole in his chest. When Sakura had walked towards him to heal his arm, he had been relieved to have someone to talk to and let go of his inner disturbance. Contrary to what he had expected, Sakura had decided to talk to him about his mistakes… and that only angered him further. If he had been feeling like shit earlier, her rejection only made his irritation grow.

One part of him was angry with Sakura for not understanding, but another part knew that she was also under a lot of pressure. He didn’t know how close Sakura was to this Gaara guy, but apparently they were close enough for her to lose focus. She had been under a lot of stress ever since they’d left Konoha and he had seen how worry had been eating away at her. Sasuke had known that they had both been subject to their strong individual feelings and had been unable to communicate properly. However, the fact that he had been aware of their previous state wouldn’t make his pride simply… disappear. When Sakura had approached him that day, he had dismissed her intentions to talk and walked away when she had intended to heal him. The action had left a bitter taste in his mouth and he had inwardly cursed himself for the way he was acting, but he couldn’t bring himself to just… approach her and talk about what had happened.

After a long time pondering about whether to look at her or not, he decided to throw her a quick glance. Sakura’s face was serious and decisive, her whole body tensed and ready for battle. Her eyes were resolved and her brows were knitted in tenacity. Sasuke felt his own face twist into a frown when he decided that she didn’t just seem strong willed… but also reckless. Sakura was usually level headed when it came to fighting and he wondered how she would perform in this state of mind. He couldn’t help but worry that she would risk her life without thinking.

Before Sasuke could find a way to approach her and talk to her about it, Pakkun jumped downward to the ground follow by the two teams. Pakkun jerked its head towards a huge rock that was to their right, which had a seal pasted on the middle.

“There he is. Need anything else?” Pakkun asked and, when Kakashi shook his head, the ninken poofed away.

“Alright.” Kakashi walked a couple steps closer to the huge rock and pointed at the seal. “I’ve read about this kind of seal. There must be four identical ones around here and they need to be removed simultaneously.”

“Neji, you can find them, right?” Tenten asked and he nodded.

“Byakugan!” Neji awakened his dojutsu and looked around. After half a minute, he had pinpointed the exact location of every seal.

“OK!”  Gai made a winning pose and motioned to his team to get closer. “We’ll go remove them. Here, take these intercoms so that we make sure to do it at the same time.”

Each member of Team Gai received an intercom and Gai gave a fifth one to Kakashi. Team Gai scattered as each team member searched for a seal, while Kakashi put his own earpiece on. He jumped on the rock and stuck one hand and his feet to the surface with chakra.

“I’m in position.” He said with one hand on the edge of the paper.

Sasuke looked at Sakura once again. She was in a slightly crouched position and her hands fisted, ready to destroy the rock in front of them. Her eyes were staring intently at the rock in front of them and her jaw was clenched. He wanted to say something now, but he could tell that she wouldn’t want to hear anything at that moment.

“What?” Kakashi’s eyes widened as he leaned into the intercom.

“ _What?_ ” Sakura asked.

“They’ve been ambushed by some… clones.” Kakashi answered, jumped to the ground and walked to his team.

“Well, let’s go back them up.” Sasuke said and started walking followed by Kakashi.

As soon as Sakura recovered from her shock – last time around they had managed to pull the seals before the confrontation – she turned around to follow her team mates. However, a voice interrupted their movements.

“Not so fast, _boy_.”

All three members of Team Kakashi sharply turned around and raised their guards. In front of them were two Akatsuki members, who Sakura immediately recognized as Sasori and Deidara. She openly gaped at them while holding her guard in place. How the hell had they gotten there? It was as if they’d… teleported in front of them. Then again, that was not all too unexpected given that Tobi – Obito – had that particular ability. But why were they here? Why had they left the cave? Last time they had been waiting inside next to Gaara’s lifeless body. Could it be that…?

“They’re buying time.” Sakura narrowed her eyes.

“Oh… sharp one, huh?” Deidara smirked. Sakura felt her heartbeat go faster at his corroboration… no way. _Could it be?_

“He’s still alive…” her eyes widened.

“Not for much longer though.” Deidara smirked.

“Let’s just get this done.” Sasori groaned in irritation. “I didn’t come here to _talk._ ”

“O _kaaaay!_ ” Deidara jumped high in the air and landed the edge of the clearing.

Team Seven made a formation in a circle, facing their backs to each other and looking towards the outside. Sakura knew what Deidara’s abilities were, and it wouldn’t do them any good to fight in a closed up space. She looked at Kakashi at the same time that he looked at her from the edge of his eye. She looked at Deidara and made a motion with her hand, signaling that Kakashi needed to fight the blonde with Sasuke somewhere else.

“Sasuke.” Kakashi said, immediately understanding her message. “Let’s lure the blonde away from here.”

“What?” Sasuke looked at Kakashi from over his shoulder. “What about Sakura?”

“She’ll stay here and fight the other one.” Kakashi said with certainty. He was aware that Sakura was stronger than she looked and he also knew that she had already fought the Akatsuki before. He trusted her if she told him to leave Sasori in her hands. However…

“Fight an S-class criminal _alone_?” Sasuke snapped and fully turned to look at the silver haired man. “Are you kidding me?!”

“You and I are both injured. The best course of action will be for the two of us to fight the blonde somewhere else, while Sakura stays here and fights until backup arrives.”

Sakura knew that Kakashi was indirectly blaming Sasuke for their current predicament. After all, it had been because of him that two members of their team were injured. Sasuke clearly noted the subliminal message and she felt him groan next to her. She could feel the doubt radiating off Sasuke. Sakura felt bad for leaving Sasuke and Kakashi half-healed, but she had not gone on this mission as a medic nin. If she’d used up all of her chakra healing them she would’ve been subject to a quick chakra depletion and thus become a liability. The best option they had was to let Sakura heal the most urgent damage and leave the rest for after the mission was finished.

“Let’s go.” Kakashi said and jumped towards where Deidara was heading.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was still next to her and looking into her eyes intently. There was a deep frown in his face and he was biting his lower lip in doubt. Sakura felt her annoyance and the memory of their previous argument completely fall away at the sight of how worried he seemed. She smiled softly and touched his shoulder lightly.

“I’ll be fine.” She nodded. “Go finish him quickly and then come back.”

Sasuke looked at her for another moment and Sakura swore that she would have to _convince_ him to abide to Kakashi’s leadership. Sasuke was stubborn, but he was also responsible when it came to his career as a shinobi, so she honestly didn’t know what his reaction would be.

“ _Sasuke!_ ” Kakashi shouted. Finally, Sasuke sighed in surrender and then determinately looked at her.

“We’ll be back soon.” He spoke firmly and the words ‘you better be alive when we do’ went unsaid, but Sakura heard it anyways.

As soon as she nodded in confirmation, Sasuke left the clearing. Sakura had been constantly aware of the third presence, but she could now focus her whole attention on him. Her eyes zeroed on the person in front of her; Sasori. Or, more accurately, the puppet he was inside of; Hiruko. Sakura was deeply grateful that she’d written down all she knew about the Akatsuki members as soon as she travelled back in time… because she honestly wouldn’t have remembered everything from such a long time ago. She knew that this would be a difficult fight; Sasori didn’t have a body or a chakra system, so poisons, genjutsu, regular weapons and medical ninjutsu didn’t affect him.

“I can’t believe they’re leaving a petty little girl to fight me.” Sasori – or Hiruko – growled. “They don’t respect me.”

“You might be surprised.” Sakura smirked as she cracked her knuckles.

“I’ll show you your place, brat.”

Sakura had expected Sasori to attack right away this time around – Chiyo wasn’t there to make him wary after all – so she was ready when he shot up his tail and tried to slash at her repeatedly. She skillfully dodged his attempts until he stopped, probably noticing that that tactic wouldn’t work. He suddenly ripped off his mask and shot senbon at her. Sakura easily moved around to dodge all of them, her training with Anko and Sasuke paying off alongside her experience in her past life. If Sakura hadn’t been particularly fast in her previous life, she was definitely fast now. Her body moved around in almost a dance as her subconscious remembered her first fight against Sasori.

When his mouth closed and the senbon stopped, Hiruko scowled and launched the wooden piece he had on his right arm. It was shot in a circular path around Sakura and exploded a couple meters away from her. Multiple senbon bombs were shot from it, making Sakura dodge the needles from different angles. In her past life, Chiyo had been adamant on her dodging _every_ attack due to the poison and, if Kankuro’s pain was anything to go by, Sakura had proof of how terrible the poison could turn out to be.

“Tch.” Sasori seemed annoyed by Sakura’s persistence. He was probably upset because he’d had to walk out of the extraction process and was currently missing the show. Sakura _assumed_ that he was missing out on it, because in a best case scenario they would need all members to perform the extraction. However, shinobi were taught to never consider a best case scenario.

“You won’t show me any more tricks?” Sakura lured, wanting to end the fight soon.

“You won’t get to see half of them.”

Thankfully, Sakura was aware of all of his tricks _and_ was now much stronger than the last time she’d fought him. Last time she’d only survived because she’d heavily relied on Chiyo’s experience to guide her with the help of chakra threads. Sakura wanted to test her abilities as much as she could against Sasori, who was the first S-class criminal she actually fought for years, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have time to enjoy the fight, because Gaara’s extraction process was still going on inside the cave.

Hiruko used his tail again but Sakura decided to go on the offensive. She leapt towards the puppeteer at top speed, dodging his attempted attacks one after the other. Hiruko shot senbon at her as she did so forcing her to deflect the needles with a kunai. Sakura had to admit that even his base attacks were strong.

Sakura was in front of him soon, but Hiruko jumped away quickly; Sasori must’ve noticed that Sakura was a good close range fighter. However, before he could move further away, Sakura’s index finger twitched and she was propelled forward towards him by a chakra string that she’d attached to his tail while blocking an attack. Hiruko’s eyes widened, probably noticing the slight pull at his metallic tail which signaled that Sakura could also use chakra strings.

Sakura was on him the next second and landed a chakra enhanced punch on Hiruko, immediately destroying the doll. She aimed a second chakra enhanced punch at the wreckage, but a hooded Sasori jumped out at the last moment. He moved back a good ten meters and eyed her with slight interest.

“It’s been a long time since I last fought with my real body.” Sasori admitted with a deadpan voice. “I would’ve never expected a small girl with _pink_ hair to manage that.”

“I know that pink is an unusual hair color.” Sakura frowned. “But I can’t help but be annoyed by the fact that people keep on underestimating me because of it.” _…along with my gender._

“You would be an interesting addition to my collection. Along with one of your friends… then I would have a total of 300 specimens.”

“So you turn people into puppets. _Boo-hoo._ ” Sakura rolled her eyes. “Maybe you should turn yourself into a puppet. You know…” Sakura smirked. “…since you’re such a pretty boy.”

“I’m not a _kid,_ you _brat_.” Sasori growled.

_\- neither am I._

Sakura watched him for a moment, the annoyed glint in his eye suddenly not making him look like an S-Class criminal… but a child. Sakura suddenly felt a pang on her chest at the notion that she was going to kill him. She remembered Sasori’s story clearly; his parents had died while on a mission and his granny Chiyo had taken him in. His parents’ death had struck him so hard that he became lost in puppeteering, which in the end lead him to start making puppets out of real humans. It sounded sick… but if Sakura compared him to the Sasuke in her old life… were they really _that_ different? Sasori wasn’t particularly _cruel_ ; he simply didn’t mind taking people’s lives when he felt like he needed to. He had somehow lost his mind after experiencing such a trauma at a young age. Of course his actions were _wrong_ , but the fact that she herself had loved a borderline psychopathic criminal in her past life suddenly made her look at him with different eyes. He was human too, one who had lost his way, but still human…

“What happened, Sasori?” Sakura said, her eyes softening. “After your parents died.”

“What?” His eyes widened slightly at the fact that she knew about that fact.

“I’m friends with your grandmother – Chiyo-chan – you know?” Sakura chuckled. “I know about your past.”

“Tch. You know nothing.” Sasori glared.

“You’re right… I don’t.” Sakura smiled sadly, remembering how Sasuke used to tell her and Naruto the same thing. “But… why are you here?”

“You know that answer.” Sasori said in a monotone, purposefully ignoring the real meaning of her words.

“Why did you leave your home? Chiyo never really forgot about you…” Sakura frowned. “You could’ve stayed there with people who loved you.”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you. I didn’t come here to talk.” He said, irritation seeping of his features. Before Sakura could say anything else, Sasori took out a scroll and made a couple hand signs. In a poof a smoke, a puppet appeared in front of him; the 3rd Kazekage. “You’ll get to see my greatest work of art and then you’ll die.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The puppet launched at Sakura at lightning speed and she hastily moved out of the way quickly. Sakura had trained against Sasuke’s speed every day for a long time, and even then the puppet’s speed was almost too much for her. The puppet had the advantage that Sasori could pull the chakra threads any time to make it change directions in the air, while Sakura had to get back to the ground to do the same. In a split second Sakura’s eyes widened and she began to jump around the clearing. She landed on many trees all around her and then finally stopped back at the center. Sasori looked at her with a bored expression and the 3rd Kazekage’s puppet jumped at her again, this time with the intent to engage in a full-on taijutsu fight.

Sakura smirked and twitched her fingers, her body flying around the clearing just like the puppet did. Her fingers controlling chakra threads that were tied around the trees in the surrounding area and connected to her body. It wasn’t exactly the same as controlling a puppet from a faraway distance – she was actually exposed to a real physical risk and her control wasn’t as good – but it was definitely enough to counter the puppets attacks. Her left hand was using the chakra threads while her right hand was gripping her kunai tightly to block the puppet’s attacks. Sakura also needed to continuously pump chakra into her arms – apart from the chakra she’d been using on the threads – to counter its strength. She would’ve never imagined a mere puppet to have such _raw_ power; it was like fighting a real jonin.

After a couple minutes of a fruitless taijutsu battle, Sasori had the puppet retreat. His arms suddenly stretched to the side and a _thousand_ wooden hands were summoned from his forearms. Sakura’s eyes widened remembering that attack and she immediately braced herself – knowing that it wouldn’t to her any good to continuously run away from them. When the immense number of arms fell on her, Sakura used her instincts and senses to move out of the way and avoid getting crushed. The hands landed on the ground and made it crack from the force, but thankfully Sakura managed to stay safe.

Sasori smirked, knowing that there was only a slim chance of her avoiding that attack unharmed. But just to make sure he released another seal, which shot a small bomb at her last known location. A purple toxic smoke quickly surrounded all of the wooden arms. Sasori waited for a moment, wanting to make sure that she would inhale it… but something told him that he would not succeed. He was certain that he would see at least some movement from a struggle if she had been trapped inside – she wouldn’t possibly try to wait for someone else to get her out. However, there was no such movement. He frowned and looked around, his eyes quickly pinpointing a small disturbance in the dust that covered the ground a couple meters to his right.

The ground to his right erupted and Sakura jumped out, charging a chakra enhanced punch at the puppet. The 3rd Kazekage was pulled back and Sakura jumped after him, but another barricade of hands shot out to stop her. Sakura instead punched the wooden limbs, successfully destroying most of them. She heard Sasori groan and then saw the puppet open its mouth. _Ah._ Iron Sand.

The iron sand scattered all around the clearing in a matter of seconds, the tiny particles looking like minuscule mosquitoes that shone under the noon sunlight. Sakura bent her knees and narrowed her eyes, making sure that nothing went unnoticed by her. Suddenly, the sand gathered into bigger clumps – around the size of golf balls – and shot at her at a quick speed. The iron bullets were fast and had Sakura completely surrounded; there was definitely no way she could dodge them all. The only way was to block them. Sakura didn’t have a chakra shield like Chiyo did, but she did have her earth nature jutsus.

“Doton: Doryūheki!” Sakura finished the hand signs in less than a second and the small earth wall rose just in time to stop the iron bullets.

Sakura jumped around continuously, using the same technique to block the persistent rain of iron sand. She wasn’t having much trouble blocking the attacks – thankfully – but she could feel her remaining chakra depleting too quickly for her liking. Sasori seemed to notice this too, because the rain of iron bullets continued. After repeating this method several times, Sakura decided it was time to switch things up a bit. She made a couple hand signs and went underground. Sakura knew she had wasted too much chakra when dealing with the iron bullets – she should’ve gone underground sooner – and was now feeling a bit low on chakra.

Closing her eyes, Sakura allowed her senses to feel the chakra above her; there were scattered clumps of chakra all around the clearing. She waited for another ten seconds, knowing that Sasori wouldn’t want to wait for too long. As she expected, soon Sasori decided to change his plan and the chakra that was imbedded into the sand above her started gathering together. It formed thick pillars above her and they shot right into the ground, becoming deeply imbedded in it. Sakura was grateful that she now had the ability to sense chakra and had been able to move away in time, because otherwise she would’ve probably been cut in two by the sheer force of the heavy pillars. Sakura jumped out of the ground into the clearing, locking eyes with Sasori.

“You’re a sneaky little brat.” Sasori scowled.

“I know right? You must be dying to get back in there and take part in what’s going on.” Sakura didn’t feel comfortable joking about Gaara’s predicament, but she most definitely didn’t want Sasori to know that she was friends with him. It wouldn’t do her any good if he used that knowledge against her.

“I _hate_ waiting.” Sasori frowned. “I also hate to keep people waiting.”

“Then… what are you waiting for?” Sakura shrugged.

The Iron Sand around Sakura shifted and gathered into a huge cube that floated above her. It suddenly shot towards Sakura, but she gathered chakra into her fist and punched it like it was made out of wool. The hundreds of tons that made up the iron cube crashed into the trees that surrounded the clearing and then came back at her. Sakura narrowed her eyes and punched the huge shape into the rock that was blocking the entrance to the cave. The seal barrier protected the huge rock effectively and the iron cube bounced off of it as if it was made of rubber. Sakura knew that it would’ve been a stretch of her luck, but she couldn’t help the frown that appeared on her face.

“Something the matter?” Sasori mocked her disappointed expression.

“You know… this ability would’ve probably destroyed anyone else.” Sakura smirked, deciding to immediately dominate the mindset of the battle – not that Sasori would lose his focus to _that_ ; he was too experienced. “Too bad you’re fighting _me_.”

“Tch.” Sasori raised an eyebrow as her cockiness, but there was _almost_ an amused glint in his eyes. “You’re too confident.”

A second mass of iron sand formed above the clearing; a huge pyramid. Sakura readied her body to move and gathered more chakra into her fist. She faintly noticed that her movements would soon become slower because of how much chakra she’d used. Her breathing was labored at this point and she was sweating from the strain of the battle. She better finish Sasori off soon… she still had Gaara to deal with inside the cave.

**-x-**

Sasuke eyed the blonde – whose name was Deidara according to the Bingo Book – that was flying on top of some sort of bird made of mush. As soon as he’d started running after Kakashi, he noticed that Deidara had been keeping his distance, which meant that he was probably a long range fighter.

His suspicions were proved right when the Akatuski dropped tiny little things that Sasuke’s and Kakashi’s sharingan immediately caught. Both began dodging the tiny balls of what looked like dough and their eyes widened when they started blowing up around them. Thankfully, both shinobi were highly skilled and had quick reactions along with their dojutsus. After a while, Deidara stopped throwing his tiny insect-bombs at them and they gathered to talk for a second.

“Earth Style?” Sasuke whispered.

“Apparently. The problem is that we can’t get close to him. Any ideas?” Kakashi asked and the Uchiha nodded.

“It’ll take a lot of chakra.” Sasuke knew that they needed to get rid of this threat as soon as possible. Kakashi seemed to know that as well and he silently agreed with him. Sasuke made a couple hand signs before screaming. “Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!”

A huge fire dragon was blown from between his fingers and it swirled around in the air, circling around Deidara above them. Deidara’s bird twisted around and flew back at high velocity, closely followed by Sasuke’s fire dragon. Deidara moved upwards, to the left and to the right, but couldn’t shake Sasuke’s fire jutsu. He seemed to realize that he didn’t have many options, because he finally flew back down towards his enemies. Sasuke was forced to release the jutsu before they burnt everything around them – chances were it would most probably burn someone from Konoha.

As Deidara was in the air and going downwards, he threw more tiny bombs at his opponents. When Deidara was at a closer range – around 10 meters, which was better but still not enough to engage in a close range fight – Kakashi made hand signs at an almost unreadable rate. “Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga!”

Lightning was emitted from his arm and formed into a huge lightning dog that dashed towards Deidara. It crossed in front of Sasuke and Kakashi a couple times, deflecting the tiny bombs away from them. It jumped into a tree to get closer and started jumping at Deidara repeatedly. Deidara barely dodged, not finding a chance to move away from the lightning animal. After dodging a couple times, Deidara finished a couple hand signs and created a huge ball of clay that surrounded the lightning dog and made it disappear. He then looked down at the two Konoha shinobi and smirked.

“Katsu!”

Kakashi’s eyes widened when he noticed that there had been a tiny insect-bomb behind a rock right to his left. It exploded and his previously injured shoulder got caught in the outer rim of the explosion, making the wound re-open. Kakashi cursed his lack of attention and looked around once more. He was surprised to see that only that particular insect had exploded, while the ones the lightning dog had deflected hadn’t.

Sasuke had already taken the chance and thrown a handful of shuriken towards the trees that were behind the blonde. He moved his hands quickly, pulling a wire that was attached to it, which set into motion a net of wires that had been attached to the shuriken. Deidara looked behind him with wide eyes as he got caught in the wire net. Sasuke immediately sent lightning through the wires and towards the trapped blonde.

Before the lightning could reach him, Deidara’s face turned into a strange texture and deformed slightly. When he was electrocuted, it turned out that his body was now made of clay and it melted away. Sasuke looked at the remaining mush and then turned his head towards Kakashi, who was now by his side. They shared a knowing look, both smart enough to quickly catch on to their enemy’s weakness.

“You know too.” Kakashi pointed out and the Uchiha nodded in confirmation.

“Aa. Lightning.”

Before they could say anything else, a voice sounded from Sasuke and Kakashi’s right. Both Konoha shinobi turned to face that direction to see Deidara.

“You must be his brother.” The Akatsuki lifted an eyebrow as he flew on another clay bird above them.

“You mean…” Sasuke’s sharingan narrowed.

“Yes. _Uchiha Itachi_.” The blonde scowled. “I can’t stand that bastard. He’s always looked down on my art.”

“You even have his annoying red eyes and the same irritating arrogant behavior. You are just like _him_. ”

Sasuke felt his hands tighten in anger. How _dare_ Deidara compare him with Itachi of all people… Itachi was a traitor, the most disloyal person he’d ever known. Sasuke would’ve never done what he did to his village, to his clan, to his _family._ A deep scowl settled on Sasuke’s features and he spat. “I’m _nothing_ like him.”

“Ohhh… _touchy_.” Deidara laughed in mockery. “You two seem the same to me.”

Kakashi decided that they were running out of time and made hand signs again. He would need to summon an incredible amount of water, so he gathered an unusually large amount of chakra. “Suiton: Suijinheki!”

A huge water wall moved towards Deidara, who didn’t have time to move out of the way, so his clay bird covered him and protected him from the impact. However, he didn’t expect Sasuke to appear at the edge of the giant wall and put his hands on it.

“Chidori!” the Uchiha screamed.

Electricity was conducted through the whole mass of water and covered the clay bird as well. The electric shock lasted only for a second, but as soon as it dispelled the fake bird was rendered useless. It pummeled down towards the ground and broke into smaller useless pieces. Sasuke had been tailing after Deidara as close as the water had allowed him to. He smirked, confirming their theory; his ability was earth natured and rendered useless by lightning. They all knew from that moment that Deidara would be at a bigger disadvantage, even Deidara knew considering the  annoyed expression plastered on his face.

“Damn…”

“You’re done for.” Kakashi announced, coming to a stop next to Sasuke.

“You really seem to hate your brother.” The blonde scratched his chin and then smirked, his eyes not leaving Sasuke and completely ignoring Kakashi. “I’ll tell you where he is now. His existence has been bugging me for too long anyways.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened and he turned sharply to look at Sasuke. They all knew that there was a big chance that Deidara’s words could be a big fat lie only meant to keep them away from the cave. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde, but couldn’t bring himself to deny his offer of intel. Deidara noticed his genuine interest and chuckled.

“He’s fifty kilometers northwest from here.” Deidara. “But I don’t think he’ll stay there much longer.”

Kakashi didn’t waste another second – luring Sasuke like that with Itachi didn’t look good when Sakura was expecting their assistance – and jumped at Deidara once again, his hands lightened up by his Raikiri. Deidara narrowed his eyes and jumped out of the way, being smart enough to not dodge backwards where the water was. He jumped above Kakashi, landed closer to Sasuke and dashed into the trees. Sasuke was right behind him, his hands forming seals. In the blink of an eye he was blowing into his fingers.

“Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!”

A huge ball of fire was casted and followed Deidara, who was forced to jump out of the way to avoid getting burned. Sasuke’s eyes closely followed his form and widened when they came upon another enemy presence. A man in an Akatsuki robe that was wearing an orange mask came out from in between the trees and stretched his hand towards Deidara. Apparently by accident, he knocked the blonde out and then hastily caught him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes; he had made it seem like an accident, but his sharingan had caught the exact movement of his wrist and he would bet on his life that it had been on purpose. That masked Akatsuki nin was good.

“Oh! Oops! Deidara-san!” the masked man hurriedly lifted Deidara onto his shoulders. His voice seemed like that of a kid, but Sasuke knew better than to underestimate someone from Akatsuki.

The masked man looked at Sasuke for a moment, and he suddenly felt intimidated. Like the person behind the mask was not a regular shinobi and was much stronger than the Akatsuki they’d been fighting until then. Of course, Sasuke didn’t have any proof, but he knew to trust his instincts so he kept his distance until Kakashi arrived.

When Kakashi stopped next to him, Sasuke felt him freeze for a moment. Before either could say anything else, the masked shinobi created some sort of portal behind him and stepped into it at once with Deidara on his shoulder. Before the swirl of space-time distortion disappeared he waved happily at the two shinobi who were still in the forest. Sasuke was surprised that someone out there had the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum. _That’s a terrifying ability._

He turned to look at his left and saw that Kakashi seemed… tenser at the sight of the masked man. “Did you know that shinobi?”

“… No.” Kakashi answered after a heartbeat of doubt. The jonin looked at Sasuke for a moment and noticed the flicker of doubt in his face, but it soon faded. If Sasuke had found his hesitance strange he had decided to not overthink it. Kakashi looked at the young Uchiha in front of him for another moment, his mind trying to decipher what he was going to do about the intel on Itachi’s whereabouts. He finally decided to simply ask him. “What are you going to do?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened for a moment and his head snapped to face Kakashi, who felt like he shouldn’t have asked anything at all. He could see Sasuke’s eyes shine with irritation before he snorted and turned away from him. “I’ll see you later.”

Before Kakashi could say anything else, Sasuke had already left in a flash. He cursed his own lack of tact and Sasuke’s impulsiveness as he took off towards where Sakura was. He once again blamed himself for letting that bomb reopen his shoulder wound, because it was most certainly making him slower. It would probably take him at least a couple extra minutes to get to Sakura because of it.

His heart dropped to his stomach as he worried about both Sakura facing Sasori alone… and Sasuke going to find Itachi on his own. Kakashi just hoped that he had read Sasuke wrong and that he would go help his team mate instead of following his revenge at that moment. Kakashi really wanted to trust his student… but his actions had proved that most of the time he was _not_ a selfless person.

 

**A/N: Ok! So… I know I really took a long time to update this chapter (not _that_ long, but I usually take only one week per chapter instead of three). A lot happened these past weeks, including me getting sick and then my son too… so for almost a week I had no time at nights to write anything at all. **

**Anyways, about the chapter:**

**I used Sasori’s name only when he left the puppet he had been using as a shield because I wanted you guys to get the mental picture of Hiruko instead of Sasori.**

**Also, what do you think about Sasuke’s attitude before meeting the Akatsuki?**

**What did you think of the _fighting_? Was it good? Damn, it took so long to write. I hope you like what I did with it.**

**What about Sasuke? What is he going to do? Do you think he will leave his team to find Itachi?**

**I’d like to hear anything that pops into your head when it comes to the chapter or the plot!**

**Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!!**

**Also, I want to thank my beta reader MonochromeAce for revising this chapter!!**

**EDIT:**

**Someone pointed something out on a review and I thought that I might clear it up for everyone just in case. Sakura is NOT using her Yin seal currently. I’ve always read fanfics where Sakura suddenly has Tsunade’s seal technique and no one is suspicious about that. That seems really unrealistic to me, especially given that shinobi village are particularly cautious about not having enemy spies inside.**

**Ever since chapter one, Sakura has been trying to avoid using her seal as much as possible, because once she uses it there is no turning back and the diamond mark will stay on her forehead. Sakura is being even more careful about that ever since Danzo became Hokage, because there’s a big chance that he would want to question her about it… and he would thus find out about Sasuke and well… everything you already know.**

**This means that Sakura is not using her full strength – she had much more raw strength during the 4 th war – and thus her battle abilities seem not as powerful as they _could_ be. Of course she’d still much stronger than she was at her original sixteen without her seal, since she has more experience and other abilities (most of which she sadly can’t use against Sasori, like poison and such).**

**I hope this has cleared any questions regarding this subject!**


	31. The Death of a Friend

** CHAPTER 31 **

It had taken Sasuke a moment to realize what Kakashi was talking about when he asked what he was going to do. Somehow, the fact that he was being doubted made anger bubble up inside him. Did Kakashi honestly think that Sasuke would ditch his teammates in the middle of an S-ranked mission to follow Itachi? He didn’t deny that the thought was tempting, but he knew that he would forever regret it if Sakura or Kakashi died because of his absence. Apart from that, the lead had been given by _Deidara_ of all people, so Sasuke was inclined to believe the piece of intel to be false.

Sasuke knew that Kakashi couldn’t know for sure what his actions would be especially after how he’d reacted the last time Itachi was involved, but he still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Kakashi must’ve known that the last time Sasuke had been reckless and acted impulsively in Itachi’s presence… but that didn’t mean that he would _plan_ to leave his team behind. How long had Kakashi been his teacher? Sasuke still remembered his first lesson; those who leave their friends behind are worse than trash. Sasuke had assumed that Kakashi would’ve understood him, but it seemed that he needed to talk things through with him.

The fact that he had been doubted had Sasuke clenching his teeth and, before Kakashi could say anything else, Sasuke had flash-stepped away from him. He didn’t need to see the confusion in his teacher’s eyes, who was surely left wondering what his answer had actually meant. Sasuke knew that he should’ve been clearer, but instead he had left Kakashi in doubt out of spite. Besides, Kakashi’s shoulder was injured and it had made him slower during their fight. That meant that he would probably take at least a couple minutes longer than Sasuke to get back, time which he would not lose and risk Sakura getting killed.

Sasuke soon arrived back to where he had last seen Sakura, who was currently punching an enormous pyramid made out of steel. The huge thing smashed against the trees, destroying everything in its path. When he deemed that he would not risk her life by making her lose focus, he jumped into the clearing and landed next to her.

 “Sakura!” he notified her of his presence.

“Sasuke!” her eyes quickly looked him over to make sure he was all right. He was fine, but she still frowned in worry. “Where’s Kakashi?”

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Sasuke answered shortly and observed her for another second. She was clearly tired and had probably used up most of her chakra, but she didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Good. Don’t let him get a scratch on you… he uses a deadly poison.” Sakura said and then turned to smirk at Sasori, who must’ve realized that he would need to finish that battle quickly before the third Konoha nin arrived.

Sasori made a couple hand signs and lifted his hand before speaking. “Satetsu Kaihō.”

The huge pyramid and cube made out of Iron Sand gathered in the air and Sakura’s eyes widened. The 3rd Kazekage’s puppet released a load of chakra and the Iron Sand turned into a mess of something that resembled roots. The roots started spreading at a great speed throughout the clearing, the pattern too tight and dense for it to be avoidable to the common shinobi. Sakura had been dreading this particular ability; the roots spread in an unpredictable manner and she wasn’t sure if she would be fast enough to move out of the way at the last second.

Before she could worry anymore, Sasuke was crouching behind her and took a hold of her right thigh while his left arm sneaked around her waist. She was tightly pulled against him and she forced her body to relax to allow easier movement for him. Then Sasuke twisted them around as he dodged the attacks, his sharingan reading the movements of the Iron Sand skillfully. Sakura saw the branches of it stretching around them chaotically, being amazed at Sasuke’s ability to dodge despite having known about his competence since long ago. At one point while they were still in the air, a secondary branch shot out towards them. Sakura felt Sasuke tense behind her; they would get pierced by it if they didn’t move and they didn’t have anything to propel themselves with. She used the chakra strings she’d attached to the trees to move them slightly and out of the way of the attack. Both landed heavily on the floor, their whole bodies tense while checking their surroundings to make sure no more branches were being created.

After the display of almost impossible to dodge attacks Sakura was sure that Sasori would believe they’d been hit. While they were still covered by a dust cloud, Sakura took out a kunai and turned around to face Sasuke who had been lying beside her. She locked eyes with him while her body was only a few inches away from his, perfectly hiding her hands in case Sasori had the chance to see. Sasuke held her gaze for a second before nodding in understanding and she used her kunai to make a small cut on his forearm. She then turned the kunai towards herself and cut her thigh and cheek. Her work was done in a couple seconds and, when the dust cloud had cleared away, her kunai was already in her pouch.

Sakura quickly stood up and Sasuke followed her lead, curiously glancing at what she intended to do. He assumed that she wanted to fake getting poisoned, but he wasn’t exactly sure because he had not seen enough of their enemy’s abilities. Sasori gave them a once over as Sakura took a couple steps forward. As soon as she did, her whole body froze up and she groaned in faked pain.

“Sakura!” Sasuke called from behind her, desperation in his voice.

Sakura inwardly smirked at how good of an actor he was; she _almost_ felt her heart break at his tone. She pummeled down in front of him with a _thump_ and her body twitched on the floor. Sasuke did his own faking, knowing that since he had less supposed injuries the poison should take a tad longer to take effect. He was soon on the ground next to Sakura with a tense body, but he instead was lying on his side and facing the enemy. Sasuke forced a grimace of pain in his face as he watched Sasori’s face twist into a smirk.

Before he could wonder what was going to happen, a sort of puppet he hadn’t paid much attention before shot at them. His eyes looked down on Sakura, concern rising within him as it approached with a long scythe on each arm – no doubt to finish them off. Always keeping his pained façade, Sasuke’s sharingan kept close track of the puppet as it neared his ‘fallen’ friend. When the puppet was only a couple meters away from Sakura – at which Sasuke was itching to get up and cut it into pieces – she got to her feet in the blink of an eye. His sharingan could see chakra lightening up her fist, which slammed into the puppets body before it could aim its scythe at her.

Sasori audibly growled when he saw his favorite puppet being smashed by the pink haired girl. Both Konoha shinobi stood up with a smirk and watched him with amusement. He scowled when he saw the Iron Sand dissipate and he then pointed at them.

“How come you’re not affected by the poison?”

“Who said these cuts are from your Iron Sand?” Sakura smirked.

Sasori realized his mistake, but didn’t dwell on it any further. He lifted his hand and started unbuttoning his Akatsuki cloak slowly. When it hit the floor, he moved his limbs slowly to test them before he used his body during battle.

“It’s been a long time since I last used myself.”

“What…” Sasuke’s eyes widened at the sight before him.

“So… in the end you turned your own body into a puppet.” Sakura pointed out what she had already known to be true.

“It’s the ultimate weapon.” Sasori smirked. “You’ll be honored to die by its hand.”

“Careful.” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed at Sasori, his instincts telling him that things were about to get a bit more complicated.

Sakura didn’t get to answer, because Sasori stretched his arms in front of him and started shooting fire out of his hands. Sakura and Sasuke started dodging, forcing their bodies to their limit to get out of the way of the fire in time. This time there wasn’t any big piles of rubble or rocks to hide behind, so Sakura started making hand signs at lightning speed. When she landed on the ground, her hand slammed on its surface and an earth wall appeared in front of her. Sasuke was hiding behind it the next second.

“He’s strong.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

“He is.” Sakura bit her lip and tried to look behind the earthen wall, hoping not to get burned. Her eyes came upon Sasori using high pressured water, the geyser of water was shot straight at them and cut the ground in two. “Move!”

Sakura’s body slammed into Sasuke’s, moving them both out of their hiding spot and barely avoided getting cut in half along with it. She quickly watched Sasori, noticing that he was glaring daggers at Sasuke. Before letting go of the Uchiha, Sakura attached some chakra strings to him, just in case. Both Konoha nin were on their feet immediately afterwards and started jumping around, avoiding the high pressured water. Sakura jumped around in the air, helping herself by pulling the right chakra strings just in time to move. Suddenly, Sasori’s water managed to cut a couple of her chakra strings by chance and she was left unaided in the air. Sasori’s experienced eyes caught this slight chance and he directed the high pressured water towards Sakura. Her eyes widened in anticipation, wondering if she would be forced to release her seal before the water cut her in two. Thankfully, she felt Sasuke’s chakra flicker to her right as he used a tree to propel himself towards her. He caught her roughly and they both escaped from the attack in time.

“Those strings won’t be useful anymore.” He pointed out.

Sakura didn’t say anything, once again amazed at Sasuke’s natural talent. He was just sixteen, but he was more skilled than both herself and Kakashi were – and they were both over twenty with vast battle experience.

“You’re starting to get annoying, boy.” Sasori growled and used his water once again. Sasuke and Sakura were forced to dodge in opposite directions. Sakura dodged the attacks, noticing that it was going back and forth, forcing her away from Sasuke. Her eyes narrowed when Sasori directed his full attention towards the Uchiha. His water aimed to cut at him while at the same time he took out another weapon; an iron cord with a poisoned sharp point. Sakura’s eyes widened when it shot at Sasuke while he was still in the air dodging the pressured water. Sakura used the chakra strings to pull Sasuke her way, successfully avoiding the attack.

Sasori didn’t waste any more time and the iron cord was sent flying after Sasuke, who widened his eyes. Sakura pulled at her end of the strings and her body was propelled forwards, crossing Sasuke’s midway. His eyes widened and met hers for a split second before she passed by him and was next to the iron cord. Her right hand glowed with chakra and took a hold of it in an iron grip, her left hand shooting up and catching the cord right next to the poisoned tip to restrict its movement. However, Sakura didn’t expect Sasori to move the cord around and snake it around her left leg. She was pulled towards Sasori at an alarming speed and her eyes widened when she noticed that he was now using his spinning blades and was rushing to meet her half way.

“Sakura!” Sasuke called and started running at her, his heartbeat erratic at the sight of the spinning blades moving increasingly faster. To buy time, he made a few hand sings and shouted. “Fūton: Daitoppa!”

Wind was casted and flew towards Sasori at high speed, changing his course and sending him away from Sakura. However, his cord remained around her leg and he pulled them closer again as soon as the wind stopped. Sakura narrowed her eyes and threw a kunai at Sasori, attaching a chakra thread to him as soon as it was deflected. Sasuke was in front of Sasori the next second, one unsheathed blade in each hand as he blocked the spinning swords with all of his strength. However, he had acted with too little time and one of Sasori’s swords slipped along Sasuke’s blade and cut his forearm slightly.

“Sasuke!” Sakura’s voice echoed through the clearing.

Her finger twitched and Sasori was pulled towards the ground at full force, his puppet body crashing down and breaking apart. Immediately, Sasuke was on Sasori, his blade shining with a charged chidori. It pierced the Akatuski through the middle of his stomach, pinning him to the ground and interfering with his control over his body.

Sakura pulled at the chakra string and pulled herself towards Sasori, charging a fist loaded with chakra. Before she could get any closer, she felt him release the cord around her and then he used chakra to summon hundreds of puppets. Sasuke cursed when his body began to freeze up under the effects of the poison. Sakura twisted around with the momentum she already had and punched the puppets that were in her way. She was next to Sasuke the next second and hastily threw him over her shoulder. Sasori jumped away and increased the distance between them with a sadistic smile.

“How about this, brats?! Only a puppeteer can work against this many enemies!”

Sakura allowed Sasuke to sit on the floor, his body contorting in pain. Sakura felt her heart drop at the sight, but felt reassured by the fact that she was already carrying an antidote. She took it out of her medical pouch and injected it into his arm without wasting one second.

“He’s done for, pinky.” Sasori’s voice spoke up. “There’s no antidote for that poison.”

Sakura lifted Sasuke off the floor and tied him to her back with chakra strings quickly. His jaw came to rest heavily on her shoulder and he groaned. Sakura immediately started fighting the puppet enemies off while Sasuke recovered on her back. After a couple seconds Sasuke tapped Sakura’s shoulder.

“I’m fine.” Sasuke whispered into her ear. Sakura nodded and swiftly cut the chakra strings that were trying him to her back. Sasuke jumped off her the next moment and began defending immediately.

“What?! How?!” Sasori’s voice echoed through the clearing.

Sasuke and Sakura didn’t find the chance to say anything to him, too busy dodging the hundreds of puppets that were attacking them. Their speed and strength was that of a high level chunin, which made it difficult for them to properly defend against so many of them. Sasori was grinning madly, watching the two Konoha shinobi try to fend off his puppets. However, before he could relish anymore on that notion, his eyes widened when he heard a chirping sound behind him. Before he could move out of the way, a hand covered in lightening pierced right through his chest. _Right_ through the box that contained his chakra. Eyeballs practically bulging out of their sockets, he turned his head sharply only to see the third Konoha shinobi behind him. Someone who shouldn’t have been aware of his weak point. _How did he know?_

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura beamed when then puppets around her stopped moving and dropped to the ground.

Sasori’s puppet body slumped down to the floor as well, his chakra signature fading slowly. Sasuke and Sakura jogged to where Kakashi and their fallen enemy were.

“Yo.” Kakashi raised his open palm in greeting. “I’m sorry I didn’t intervene earlier. I was waiting for the right time.”

“No problem.” Sakura waved him off and immediately changed the subject. “Sensei, what about the others? Are they ready to pull the seal off?”

“Let me ask.” Kakashi moved to talk into the intercom.

Sakura looked to the left and gave Sasuke a once over. “Are you all right?”

“Aa.” He nodded once and then eyed her intently, searching for any wounds. “You?”

“I’m fine.” Sakura also nodded. “Just tired.”

“Only Neji still needs to defeat his enemy. They will be ready in a minute.” Kakashi interjected.

“Brat.” Sasori spoke up. “Where did you find an antidote to that?”

“I created it.” Sakura smirked. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m friends with Chiyo-chan, she told me a lot about you.”

Sasori glared at her and Sakura was afraid that he would keep on asking. She honestly didn’t know what she would say if he kept questioning her, because she’d prepared the antidote in Konoha based on the knowledge she had from her past life. Kakashi wouldn’t question her because he knew about her time travel and her previous fight with Sasori – that how he’d known about his weakness – but Sasuke would definitely be suspicious.

Thankfully, the Akatsuki seemed to let it slide and closed his eyes in surrender. Despite being a puppet, Sakura could see the defeated posture in his body and the depressed feeling he emitted. Sakura felt her heart constrict at the sight of him like that, the knowledge of why he’d turned out like that filling her with sadness. After the war Sakura had come to stop considering every other shinobi like she used to. The story about Itachi, Obito, and every person she’d met from other villages had opened her eyes to how human they all really were. Sakura hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

“Sasori…” Sakura took another step towards his and kneeled in front of him to level her eyes with his. She felt Sasuke and Kakashi shift uncomfortably behind her, probably because of how close she’d gotten to an enemy that was still alive. “I’m sorry it had to end like this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Chiyo…” Sakura frowned and looked at the ground in front of her. “She told me about her grandson and how he’d become a criminal. How he’d chosen to build a wall no one could break through after his parents died. How he became lost in his own hatred and resentment after he lost his closest family.”

“…” Sasori didn’t even flinch at her words.

“Don’t you think that it’s all too unfair? To yourself. Do you honestly believe that you’ve lived a fulfilling life?” Sakura stopped for a moment. “Wouldn’t you have been happier with friends? A new family? Does power make you happy?”

“It does.” Sasori spat, but there was a pained expression in his eyes.

Sakura closed her eyes tightly. “Even… turning your own body into a puppet. Throwing away your ability to feel for so many years… Haven’t you missed your body? The warmth of another human being? The touch of a friend? Of a lover? …Why are you punishing yourself like this?”

“I… I’m not.” Sasori’s eyes were wide when he stared at Sakura. Everyone in the room was aware that he was in denial, even Sasori himself. A flash of regret shone in them as he frowned in sorrow and then lowered his head.

“You’re not guilty for your parents’ death.” Sakura smiled softly, understanding filling her deeply. Her memories of the Sasuke in her past life helping her understand the man in front of her. “You didn’t need to become a criminal and shut everyone out. Everybody deserves happiness… _everyone._ ”

“What good is it to talk about this now.” Sasori barked, but there was a pained sound in his voice. He didn’t lift his head to look at Sakura.

“You should know that Chiyo still loved you dearly. You’ve always been her grandson; the boy she raised for so many years.” Sakura’s eyes were soft and there were suddenly unshed tears in them. “She still had your bed room like you left it… she never gave up on you. She was always willing to forgive you and take you in again.”

Sasori’s eyes widened briefly and then he tightly closed them. Sakura wondered if he would be crying if he had an actual body. Sasori’s chakra flickered once again, the last of it being released and death taking over him. “I… tell her… I wish I’d seen her one more time.”

Sakura felt the last of his chakra fade away and she stood up. She frowned deeply and took a couple steps back, coming to stand next to her team mates. Sakura looked at Kakashi and he jerked his head towards his left. She curiously looked that way and saw Sasuke’s face obscured by his bangs, the atmosphere around him gloomy; he was deep in thought. If suddenly occurred to Sakura that what she’d said to Sasori could’ve been perfectly applied to Sasuke as well. He was not a criminal in this life – not yet at least – but his pain and his story related to Sasori’s a lot. She wondered what he was thinking about…had her words made him question his actions? Was he angry that she’d talked about such a thing in his presence? Was he just saddened because he’d been reminded of his own clan’s massacre?

Sakura wanted to ask what he was feeling, but decided to leave him alone with his thoughts. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk about it, especially given that they still hadn’t completed the mission. Instead, Sakura turned to Kakashi.

“Sensei, come here.” She motioned for him to walk closer to her and she put her hands on his injured shoulder. “I’ll just stop the bleeding for now.”

“Ok.” Kakashi nodded and allowed her chakra to surround his wound. After half a minute, he lowered his head and held one hand to his earpiece. “They’re in position.”

Her hands fell from Kakashi’s shoulder as he jumped towards the seal that was on the huge rock blocking the entrance of the cave. Sakura’s body froze up before taking a step back. It was time. After days of worrying and trying to get to Gaara, she would finally be able to save him. She didn’t know how exactly she would stop the extraction if it came to that, but she knew that she would have to do something about it.

Sakura’s heartbeat was erratic in her ribcage, the worry once again settling inside of her. What would she find inside? Would Gaara be alive? Would the extraction be finished and all she would find would be his dead body once again? Sakura nervously clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides, trying to keep focused on the present.

Kakashi removed the seal off the huge rock in a swift motion and then jumped back behind Sakura. She gathered chakra around her hand and then ran at the blocked entrance of the cave. Her fist clashed against the rock and it cracked into tiny pieces in the blink of an eye, the sheer force sending the rubble everywhere in what resembled an explosion. Sakura didn’t wait for her teammates to catch up and simply rushed inside, sending chakra down her legs and to her feet. She run 50 meters into the cave in only a couple of seconds and stopped dead in her tracks when the huge cloud of dust finally cleared. She faintly noticed her teammates stopping beside her the next moment and a hand shot up to hold her wrist in a painfully strong manner.

“ _Idiot!_ ”

She realized it was Sasuke who was holding her hand when he whispered into her ear. He was holding her in place to prevent her from running into the cave anymore. And no wonder, but it wasn’t needed because Sakura was frozen in place by the sight in front of them.

Not ten meters ahead of them, at the far end of the cave, was a huge statue. It had its hands wide open in front of it and its fingers spread apart. On each fingertip was a hologram of a person – an Akatsuki member – and they seemed to have been deep in discussion. However impressive all of that was, Sakura’s whole attention was focused on the _face_ of her nightmares; the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. It was the vessel into which the bijuus would be sealed into and the one that would finally become the Juubi. The resemblance was uncanny… Sakura couldn’t help but freeze in panic at the sight of it.

Her senses shut down as her mind became flooded with images… memories of the 4th war and its aftermath. The deaths of all of her friends and family by the hands of _that_ creature. The systematic destruction of every human life she ever came across – except for Obito – and of every natural ecosystem she walked into. The pain of starvation and the constant fear of dying alone, of finding herself the last one alive.

Sakura faintly felt Sasuke and Kakashi tense next to her and Kakashi’s hand came to rest on her shoulder firmly. She forced herself to snap back into the present and turned her head to look at her teacher. He was looking at her with understanding and empathy – he knew what the statue meant to her after what she’d told him about her past life – but also with a look that was warning her to gather herself quickly. Her head was drumming from the force of the feelings she’d experimented, but she managed to take notice of what was going on.

The Akatuski members – or more specifically their holograms – were starting to disappear one by one. Sakura’s eyes came upon Itachi’s narrowed ones, that were intently looking at her. She held his gaze for a moment and then his eyes flickered to Sasuke and Kakashi for a split second before he disappeared too.

Sakura looked at the last hologram standing on top of a statue fingertip; Pain. She frowned upon seeing him there… should she talk to him? Maybe. She probably shouldn’t waste this chance. Maybe she should try to convince him to have a talk with her. Maybe if she did, she and Kakashi could talk to Sasuke to make sure he didn’t react badly to the news of her being a time traveler. It was a stretch of luck, but Sakura wasn’t sure if she would have another-

“You’re too late.” Pains voice brought her out of her thoughts. It wasn’t until he spoke that Sakura _remembered_ what their current mission was.

“Gaara…” her eyes widened in shock. She’d truly been adamant in finding him, but when coming face to face with the beast of her nightmares she had completely forgotten about him. Her whole being suddenly realized that the extraction had in fact _not been_ taking place anymore. She became painfully aware that it could only mean one thing. The extraction of the bijuu was done and she had failed. “No…”

“He died for a good cause.” Pain answered simply, as if that would make her feel any better.

He made a couple hand signs and the Demonic Statue was casted away. As soon as it was out of sight, his hologram disappeared too. In the middle of the ground where the statue had been standing, was a still form. Sakura’s breath got caught in her throat to the point that she felt like she was choking, but she still pushed her body forwards until she was kneeling next to her redhead friend. He was too pale – even for his standards – and he was deadly still. Sakura’s hand shot out to his throat, trying to find a pulse or something to give her hope… but she found none. Gaara was dead.

“Oh…” Sakura’s eyes closed tightly as she chocked on her tears. Her hands softly picked Gaara’s body up and brought him closer to hug him. Sakura felt utterly useless. Not only had she known about Gaara’s abduction for years in advance, but she also was a medic; someone meant to _save_ people. She wasn’t supposed to watch them _die_. And yet, it seemed like it was all she could ever do.

Sakura faintly heard voices and realized that team Gai had entered the cave and where running towards her and her team. She paid them no mind. Actually, Sakura didn’t even notice that Kakashi and Sasuke had been standing next to her the whole time until that moment. It could’ve been due to the fact that they were uncannily silent. Kakashi turned around and walked towards the other team to meet them halfway, probably to give Sakura some space.

Sasuke’s shoulders had dropped in defeat. They had failed the mission – their first mission as a team in _years_. Not just that, but Sakura had lost someone important to her. He could imagine how close she’d been to the Kazekage from her general reactions and he could _also_ see that she was blaming herself. Her face was contorted in deep grief, but there were also flashes of defeat and anger in her body language. Sasuke knew her well enough to know what she’d been thinking. He wanted to tell her that it was _not_ her fault. That she did all she could and that she couldn’t control everything. That she couldn’t be everywhere at once to protect her precious people and that she couldn’t prevent everyone’s death. He wanted to tell her that he understood how she felt and that she _needed_ to stop blaming herself. But Sasuke knew he would be acting a bit like a hypocrite, because deep down he sometimes still blamed himself for not foreseeing Itachi’s actions. He also knew that the only thing Sakura needed now was time to grieve, so he stayed back.

There was also the issue of their argument. Their battle together had been good; they had fought well together, protected each other and communicated just fine. However, Sasuke noticed that as soon as the fight was over, a slight distance reappeared between them. Sakura was probably not conscious of it – because she was focusing on something else entirely – but Sasuke surely was. He was currently more annoyed than before about their current predicament, because he felt as if any attempts at comforting her would be awkward and she might even push him away. It also wasn’t the time to talk things through. So, Sasuke did the only thing he guessed was right at the time and stood next to her.

Sakura’s crying had evolved from open cries and hiccups, to a quiet crying as her disbelief and shock subsided. However, that didn’t mean that she was feeling any better. Her thoughts and feelings – that had been rushed and all over the place a couple minutes ago – now felt numb, as if her mind had decided to shut down in order to protect itself. Sakura simply felt empty at the moment, but wasn’t sure if it would do her any good to suppress the grief that would surely come back later. She faintly heard Kakashi and Gai talking and – from the words she managed to recognize – assumed they were filling each other in on their battles.

Sakura lowered Gaara onto the ground gently and suddenly pulled back. She put her hand into her medical pouch, pulling out some sort of medical linen to use as a tissue. She heavily blew her nose, which had been practically running free after so much crying.

When she finished, Sasuke crouched next to her and stretched his arm forward as he held out his canteen, silently offering her some water. Sakura lowered her hands – that were holding her now dirty tissue – and raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffed from crying and her mouth slightly parted as she breathed through it. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her hands were tightened on her lap. Sakura’s hair was slightly messed up, but Sasuke didn’t remember if it had been that way when they’d finished fighting Sasori. Overall, Sakura looked heartbreakingly sad. She noticed the water that was being offered to her and then locked eyes with Sasuke. He simply nodded and slightly lifted his canteen a bit more as he offered her a sympathetic smile.

“Thanks.” Sakura croaked and smiled back. Sasuke was relieved to find that, even though her smile was sad, it was honest. She gulped down some water and then returned it to him.

“Sakura.” Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder and pressed slightly. She locked eyes with him for a moment – clearly expecting him to go on – and he realized that he didn’t know what to say. The gesture had been something unconscious and he had not planned anything to say. He had never been good with words, but he was also not good with any form of physical demonstration of affection. He mentally cursed himself for his social inability, but decided – within a split second – that it was something that could only change if he put some effort into it.

Sakura was waiting for Sasuke to say whatever he wanted to – and was currently wondering if he had decided not to talk – when he did something completely unexpected. He raised the arm that was closer to her and put it over her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. It was a half hug, and quite awkwardly executed if Sakura was to be honest… but the gesture was more than enough for her. She turned so that she was facing him and wrapped both her arms around his torso, tightly pulling him against her.

Silent sobs were emitted from Sakura’s shaking form as her hands tightly fisted the back of Sasuke’s shirt. He quietly put his own arms around her, encasing her into a hug that he hoped would communicate his supporting presence. He didn’t really know what else to do in this kind of situations. What would a more socially open person say in this moment? ‘I’m here for you’? ‘Don’t cry? ‘It’ll be all right’? It all seemed like a bunch of bullshit. There was nothing he could say. Apart from that, Sasuke didn’t even really _know_ Gaara. What could he say about the death of someone he hadn’t known much about?

They both simply sat there, Sakura’s tears pooling on his shoulder while the shaking of her shoulders reverberated through his chest. Kakashi seemed to have finished talking to team Gai, because they were all quiet now and watching Gaara’s body with a disappointed frown on their faces. Kakashi neared his two students and put a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, who had stopped crying by now – but still had a disheartening expression on her face.

“Sakura.”

Sakura took a deep breath in. “Yeah.”

“We need to set out to Suna soon.” He informed her. The implication of needing to have a funeral before Gaara’s body started deteriorating went unsaid.

Sakura nodded quietly and bent down to pick up Gaara’s form, and carried it to the clearing outside the cave. She faintly noticed Sasori’s puppet body lying on the ground not far from her – still amongst all the rubble and torn tree trunks – but walked ahead. She softly put Gaara’s body on the ground under a tree and kneeled next to him. She realized that everyone – Sasuke, Kakashi and Team Gai – surrounded the Kazekage’s body quietly, in respect for his death.  

Sakura’s eyes lingered on his features for what she thought would be the last time she saw her friends. Now they would have to wrap his whole body up, so that the desert heat ahead wouldn’t do too much damage. She was about to ask for something to wrap him in, when her senses caught another presence nearing them. Even despite her state of mind, she managed to suppress the urge to react to it immediately – knowing that it could seem suspicious for her to have higher sensing abilities than Kakashi or Gai – and only reacted when she saw the jonins look towards that direction. Her eyes widened when she recognized that chakra signature and stood up in recognition when the woman landed inside the clearing.

“Chiyo-chan.” She greeted with a voice still coarse and tired from the previous events. She would’ve smiled at seeing her friend after so long, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. However, Sakura had to admit that it did bring her out of her depressive state a bit.

Chiyo immediately rushed towards Sakura, giving a small nod at the other shinobi as a quick form of greeting. “Sakura! Are you all right?” Sakura nodded softly in response, and the elder woman immediately caught her strange demeanor. Sakura seemed… distressed. Then she followed where the pinkette was intently looking at and her own eyes widened. Sabaku no Gaara was dead; they had been too late. Instead of feeling disappointed, angry or even sad – she hadn’t been too close to the Kazekage after all – Chiyo felt worried. Sakura had been really good friends with the redhead and she also knew that she treasured her close people dearly. Chiyo understood how his death must’ve hit her, since she had herself lost close friends in missions before. Also, what would happen with Suna now? What about the necessary peace treaty they’d established with Konoha? Chiyo knew that something needed to be done.

Sakura felt Chiyo’s hand slowly hold her own, the old woman’s warmth and serenity passing on to her in a strange tingling feeling on her fingers. Sakura’s turned her head to lock eyes with her and was surprised to see Chiyo’s eyes drowned in tenderness. Her eyebrows rose in question and interest as her hind tightened the older woman’s. Chiyo gestured with her head towards Gaara before speaking in a low voice.

“You know, Sakura, I never really gave our new Kazekage a second thought when he was first elected.” She chuckled. “I had long ago decided to not care about politics and shady business. It had become so emotionally draining at my age to see people playing dirty politic games. I really thought that there was no way for any shinobi village to have a leader that wasn’t corrupt.”

“I know.” Sakura smiled sadly. “But I believe Gaara was different.”

“Just like your blond friend, Naruto.” Chiyo smiled as she closed her eyes, probably remembering the time that she’d met the blonde teen when he’d visited Sakura in Suna. “I really had dropped all sense of a better future for our village and had decided to simply enjoy my retirement… but then Gaara became Kazekage and you came to our village. Despite now knowing him closely, I learned a lot about him through you, through what you told me. He has changed so much from the lost boy he once used to be… I was proud of what I found out. Now I really think that he could’ve done a great good to our village. He was a truly good and humble leader, who believed in peace and worked tirelessly towards prosperity for all.”

Sakura felt her eyes fill up with tears again at the same time as her chest constricted in worry; what kind of leader would Suna have now? Would Konoha’s peace treaty with them survive with someone else in charge? What would happen if the Shinobi Alliance were to be ever needed in the future? Sakura didn’t get to think beyond that, because Chiyo spoke once again.

“We can’t let him die.”

Sakura was about to say that he was _already dead_ , but then her eyes widened in recognition. How could she have forgotten about Chiyo’s last resort jutsu? Not only had she used that in her past life, but she had also told Sakura about it during their time together in Suna. “You don’t mean…”

“I do.”

“But… you’ll die.” Sakura bit her lip and held Chiyo’s arm tightly. “You’ll die for sure.”

“I know.” She smiled sadly, but her eyes shone with acceptance and resolve. “But I’m old. I don’t have a whole life ahead of me. I’m not the _Kazekage_ and my presence is not as important as his is. He has a chance to make a difference, to fall in love, to have a family, to build something for himself and for his people. I, on the other hand, am just a rotting old lady that’s nearing the 8 th decade too fast for her liking.”

“Don’t say that!” Sakura frowned in disagreement. “You know what we’ve talked about! Age does not-”

“-not lie on how many years you count, but in the spirit.” She nodded. “But time and death are unavoidable and I will die sooner than later. Besides, are you sure you would rather let Gaara die?”

Sakura’s shoulder dropped and she tightened her hands at her sides. Would she have rather Gaara die? How was she even supposed to decide such a thing? The both of them meant so much for her. Both filled different gaps in her life and-

“Relax.” Chiyo shook Sakura’s shoulder. “You always overthink everything. I’m not telling you to make a decision, because I already have chosen. I want you to respect my decision and support me now.”

“Chiyo-chan…” Sakura’s eyes softened. Chiyo was older, but that didn’t make her any less human. She was making a sacrifice and was going to surrender her life for the sake of what she thought was the right thing to do. Chiyo was probably scared, but she was pushing forwards and not looking at her own apprehensions and fears. The least Sakura could do was support her as a fellow shinobi and as her _friend_. Sakura shook her head slightly, clearing up any worries left in her and held Chiyo’s hand, that was still on her shoulder. “All right. Let’s do this.”

“But _first,_ I want to ask something of you.” Chiyo’s eyes trailed to where Sasori’s puppet body lay motionless. “Tell me about my grandson’s last minutes.”

**-x-**

Chiyo had seemed incredibly happy to know that apparently there still had been some humanity in Sasori. She had been grateful at Sakura because of the words she’d spoken to him. She’d said that most shinobi would’ve simply forgotten a criminal was a human too and left him to die alone and that, then again, Sakura was too soft hearted to be a kunoichi.

Chiyo explained the jutsu to the rest of the Konoha shinobi and shortly apologized for not greeting them sooner. Everyone was surprised that such a jutsu existed and seemed guilty that she would have to complete their own mission. Despite that, no one said anything and thanked the older woman, knowing as much as she did that the Kage’s life was far more important than any other shinobis’ in any village.

They all settled around Gaara and Chiyo, who sat on the ground next to his head. Sakura watched with a heavy heart as the older woman prepared everything to start the jutsu. She tried to focus on the birds that were flying above the canopy, the sky was a beautiful blue and the clouds were as white as they got. On the horizon, there were high mountains and they were covered with snow at the top, which shone under the sunlight. The poetic scenery did nothing to calm her melancholic state.

Sakura crouched next to Chiyo and pulled her into a hug. She was saddened that she was losing a dear friend in exchange for another, but it somehow didn’t feel as wrong as Gaara’s death. Sakura felt slightly guilty about it, but reassured herself that it was _not_ because of a personal preference. She imagined that it was a mixture of the fact that Chiyo had died at this point of time in her past life, that Chiyo was much older and would’ve died soon of old age anyways and that Gaara had so much more to do and live through than she did. The old woman had been right about everything – she always seemed to be.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” Sakura whispered into her shoulder.

“I know.” Chiyo smiled. “Death is always awful for the ones that are left behind, because human life is built on bonds. I’m sorry.”

Sakura smiled and pressed her hard against her once more before letting go. She retreated a bit to give Chiyo some space to perform the jutsu, but stayed close to her nonetheless. The older woman performed the hand signs and then put her hands on Gaara’s shoulders. Chakra emitted from her hands and transferred into his body, slowly filling it with life energy once again. As the seconds passed by, Chiyo’s breath became more labored and sweat formed on her forehead. Sakura felt the urge to wipe it off but was afraid to interrupt the jutsu – which she sadly knew nothing of because Chiyo had refused to teach it to her.

Suddenly, Chiyo’s body pummeled down into the ground between Gaara’s body and Sakura. She immediately held her and felt her pulse, which was now gone. She tenderly closed her half lidded eyes and kissed her forehead before laying her back on the ground. Sakura, Lee and Ten-Ten slowly moved Chiyo towards a sheet that Kakashi had gotten from who knows where and wrapped her up in a minute. They didn’t want her body to deteriorate before she had a proper funeral in Suna.

As soon as that was done, everyone’s eyes were back on Gaara, who was still lying on the ground and seemed as dead as before. However, his usual skin tone slowly started to come back and his chest almost imperceptibly began rising and falling as he breathed once more. All 7 Konoha shinobi stood in awe at the sight of life being casted into what had just been a corpse. Slowly, Gaara’s opened his eyes and quietly stirred as he rose into a sitting position.

Sakura felt tears on her eyes once more, but this time it was because of relief; Gaara was alive. She felt a wide smile spread on her lips, unable to keep her feelings in check – as would’ve been expected during a mission. Her arms carefully circled around him and pulled him into a hug.

“Sakura.” Gaara’s arms wrapped around her waist in return, and his head came to rest on her shoulder.

Gaara had been a bit confused and disoriented at first, but when his pink haired friend embraced him his mind managed to calm and remember the past events. He was a bit startled at the fact that he was not dead, but trusted the easy atmosphere around him and his instincts which told him that there was no more danger. It was not only a surprise to be alive but Sakura was there. He had missed her so badly after she left Suna almost two months ago. His routine had included the pinkette’s visit at least once a day and suddenly having her gone had been striking at first.

Gaara had always told himself that he didn’t care about what kind of relationship he had with Sakura as long as they had one. He didn’t want to risk having such an important person walking away from him. However, when the Akatsuki attacked Suna he had first been worried for his village, but when he woke up in a cave and inferred what their intentions were he was filled with regret. When facing his imminent death, he found that he couldn’t agree with that train of thought anymore. The need to know where they stood was present in his mind even through the pain of the extraction. He wondered what she would’ve thought about his feelings. Would she have remained friends with him? Would she have returned them? It was only then that Gaara understood how important it was to die without regrets and to live life to the fullest.

Feeling Sakura’s arms around his neck and her happiness due to him being alive made him feel warm inside. He inhaled deeply and his nose was filled with her particular scent – something he had never been able to define with words, but that was nonetheless deeply imbedded into his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment and was surrounded by her presence.

Gaara later imagined that, due to the experience of dying and coming back alive, he had either forgotten that he was surrounded by other people or simply subconsciously hadn’t thought it relevant anymore. Pushed by a rush of bravery, he pulled back from Sakura’s embrace and put his hand on the back of her neck before she could move away. He gently held her in place and moved closer to place his lips on the outline of hers. It was a feather touch, but he knew that she had definitely felt it because her breath caught in her throat.

When he pulled back, her eyes were wide and looking at him with disbelief. Gaara simply smiled at her reaction and she immediately coughed into her hand, trying to break the tension in the air. Everyone was quiet around them, probably wondering if there was something going on between the two.

Gaara liked to think that he knew Sakura almost as well as he knew his own siblings. He could see that she felt a bit uncomfortable at his actions and that she was a bit confused. For some reason she looked… worried. Nonetheless, he did not regret showing her that she meant something more to him. After all, he only wanted to find out where they stood and, knowing her, she would try to talk to him about it. Gaara was counting on that.

Feeling that he had taken a first step towards clearing the subject that he’d been regretting ever since he was faced with death, Gaara turned to look away from Sakura. She seemed to be a bit caught in her thoughts at the moment, so he would talk to someone else. His eyes came upon Kakashi, who was conveniently looking at him.

“Kazekage-sama.” He nodded his head in a respectful manner.

“Kakashi.” Gaara greeted back. “Do you mind filling me in?”

Sakura knew that she was supposed to explain her fight with Sasori to Gaara. However, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him at the moment. It was not that she was feeling shy about Gaara’s gesture or that she was angry at him. Sakura’s mind was filled with something else entirely at the moment.

She was trying hard not to look at Sasuke, but she couldn’t help the furtive glances that she threw at him. The worst part of all was that he seemed to be intently listening to somebody else’s conversation – something he _rarely_ did – and currently had his back turned towards her. Was he purposefully ignoring her? Had he even seen what Gaara did? Was he angry? Did he even _care_? Sakura hated that she always started overthinking everything and playing scenarios in her head – _especially_ when it came to Sasuke.

On the other hand, Chiyo’s death was still ever present in her mind. In between the glances she threw at Sasuke, she looked at the place where her friend’s wrapped body was laying. Her heart still ached at the notion that she’d lost a close friend – no matter how much older Chiyo had been, Sakura had still considered the woman her friend – and she felt like she needed space to mourn. However, the fact that she was surrounded by other people and the subject was about Gaara were not helping her at all.

 _Apart_ from all of that, Sakura had remembered another subject that she’d forgotten until that moment. As soon as Chiyo’s body was delivered to Suna that day and her funeral was held on the next day, all Konoha shinobi would start the trip back home. And, on that trip, Sakura was supposed to meet with Itachi. Tell him that she was a time traveler, tell him what had happened in her previous life and convince him to take action to stop Obito. Also, she would have to keep anyone – especially Sasuke – from finding out about their meeting.

It all was a hell of a mess in her head, and Sakura felt like she wouldn’t be able to handle everything the way she had expected to.

 

 

**A/N: So! Here it is! Chapter 31. I had wanted it to be shorter… but oh well.**

**I know that Chiyo jumped at Kakashi the first time she saw him in canon, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment with that scene. So just assume that Sakura told Chiyo about her sensei being the White Fang’s son.**

**What did you think of the battle between Sakura and Sasuke against Sasori?**

**What about Gaara’s death and their short meeting with the Akatsuki holograms and the creepy Juubi Statue?**

**Do you think Sasuke will have some sort of reaction after seeing Gaara almost kiss Sakura on the lips? Was it too cliché? (I know it was! Damn, I was doubted whether to put it or not… but finally decided to do that because some readers had asked for a scene like that. It kinda seemed like a cheesy highschool romance… but then again they’re sixteen, right? – at least Sasuke and Gaara are, so it still counts.)**

**I want to thank my beta, MonochromeAce, for reading the chapter so fast!**

**Also, I want to thank all of you for reading and especially for reviewing! Reviews are love and they give me so much incentive!**


	32. An awaited Meeting

** CHAPTER 32 **

The Akatsuki had taken Gaara into a forest that was just at the edge of the desert and as soon as the party of shinobi took off they entered the dry ecosystem. They had talked it through and had decided that they had to get to Suna as soon as possible, so they would have to move faster than usual and travel sometime after nightfall. Sakura realized that everyone was exhausted after such strenuous fights and almost no time to rest, but no one complained; they knew that Chiyo’s body needed to get to Suna soon.

Sakura felt that her presence there had somehow created a pressure on the subject, because she honestly doubted that shinobi teams would regularly put a dead person’s body ahead of the living. Nonetheless, she was grateful for it. If there was something that would worsen her state of mind, it would be to witness Chiyo’s body starting to decay due to prolonged exposure to the desert heat.

Chiyo’s body was still securely wrapped in the sheet, which was currently being carried by Lee and TenTen, each one holding one end of it. Kakashi was holding a makeshift sunshade that he had pulled from big canopy leaves – who would’ve guessed that The Sharingan Kakashi, openly a pervert and a ruthless shinobi, was good at handcrafting something like that? The thought would’ve made Sakura laugh if she hadn’t been under so much stress for the past few hours.

On top of that, Sakura was well aware that there was tension in the air. And it involved her. On one hand, everyone had witnessed Gaara’s actions towards her and they were scattered around in a formation that was practically… giving them some space. As if they were a couple, or as if they were going to get together anytime soon.

On the other hand, Gaara had been unusually quiet ever since they’d taken off. Sakura had noticed that Kakashi and Gai had spoken to him and wondered if that had something to do with his change in demeanor. She had no way of knowing _what_ had been said because she’d been too busy worrying about Sasuke, like a goddamn child. They were in the middle of a mission that would have great political impact, but Sakura had been too busy with some romantic drama – that probably was nonexistent anyways – and may have missed some important piece of conversation. Sakura just hoped that Gaara was not upset because they had failed and Chiyo had died. Maybe he had disagreed with Kakashi on something? Or maybe with Gai?

Apart from that, Sasuke had been ignoring Sakura ever since they left the forest. He had not given any indications of being angry, upset, injured, too exhausted, or anything else. However, Sakura just _knew_ that something was up. At first she thought that she was making up all the drama in her head – she _did_ pay more attention to him than others after all – but as the day progressed she became increasingly certain that it was _not_ her imagination. First of all, Sasuke had been acting especially antisocial towards everyone – Sasuke had _never_ acted this way in this time line, not even when Sakura first met him while still in the Academy. Secondly, he had not looked at her once or even faced her direction – that she was aware of at the very least. And third but not last, Sasuke had been constantly keeping his distance from her and had ended up at the opposite end of the group no matter where Sakura moved to. So, at the end of the day, she was pretty sure that something was up with him.

Sakura had four theories for his behavior. The first one was that he was still upset about their argument about him putting Kakashi in danger while fighting the fake Itachi. The second was that he could be still bothered by the fact that he had seen Itachi twice – if she included his hologram in the cave – but had not been able to do anything against him. The third option was that the words Sakura had told Sasori during his final moments had affected him too, especially given how similar their backgrounds were. The last one was that Sasuke was angry about Gaara almost kissing her on the lips – which she wanted to assume was not possible, because she didn’t need to play any scenarios in her head. There could also be another reason that she was unaware of, but given how he seemed to be avoiding her specifically, she imagined that it had something to do with her.

When nightfall arrived, the group of shinobi experienced firsthand the _cold_ of the desert. Sakura understood why desert animals mostly moved around at night; because if you didn’t have a blanket you would die of cold, plus they all built underground shelters for during the day. So, despite it being cold as hell, Sakura was glad that they were _moving_ , because even with a blanket she would be freezing. She suddenly even missed the scorching heat of the day.

After a good three or four hours of walking in the cold, Suna came into view. The whole group’s morale was boosted and their pace increased; everyone was eager to sleep in a warm bed and have something to eat. When they entered the gates, they were approached by two squads – Gaara had a message sent ahead to inform his village of the previous events – one squad took Chiyo’s body away and the other immediately approached Gaara to check his health and report on the village’s situation. There had been an invasion and battle inside the village after all.

As Gaara moved towards the Kazekage tower, another Suna shinobi approached the rest of them and announced that they would be taken to a place where they could rest. They all followed quietly, they’re bodies now feeling the tiredness that came from walking in the desert heat and cold for _hours_. It was also almost midnight by then and they were all beaten from their previous battles. Suna had assigned one room per team, so they quickly said their goodnights and entered their rooms. The first thing that Sakura noticed, and she was exhilarated when she did, was a hot meal already served on their nightstands.

“Oh, I needed this so much.” Sakura beamed and dropped her backpack on the first bed that she came across, immediately sitting down on it – right next to the nightstand.

“The cold definitely opened up my appetite for some hot miso soup.” Kakashi started unwrapping another meal as Sasuke sat down on the remaining bed.

“Honestly, even after living here for two years I never cease to be amazed that people actually survive in such a climate.” Sakura said after swallowing a bite of her dinner. “This is so good.”

They all ate their own food in silence, their appetites too big for them to waste time talking. Ten minutes later, they were all finished and Kakashi stretched before standing up.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting ready for bed.”

He took a smaller bag and some clothes – probably pajamas – out of his pack and headed towards the door. Only when he’d left did Sakura realize that she was now alone with Sasuke and the not at all welcome thoughts came back to her. Her eyes trailed towards the other end of the room, where Sasuke was currently sitting on his bed and looking out the window. Sakura looked at him for a while, expecting him to say something to her… but he didn’t. Sakura knew that Sasuke was a person of little words, but so much had happened that day. There definitely were things to talk about – at the very least their argument the previous night – and it was the perfect opportunity to do so.  Sakura fidgeted a bit on her bed and finally decided to try and break the ice.

“It’s always tiring travelling to Suna.”

“Hn.”

Well. At least he said _something._ Sakura leaned forward a bit to try and see what Sasuke was looking at with so much interest. She didn’t see anything but the barely noticeable roofs of the village and the black sky above, that was filled with stars that shone brighter than they did in Konoha. “It’s quite a view here, huh? The sky is always so clear here… the lack of rain and clouds at least has one advantage.”

“Hn.”

Ok, she had tried. Sakura really wanted to talk to Sasuke but she wasn’t going to force him or anything. After all, this whole awkwardness might only be part of her imagination and she would be making a fool out of herself. She also knew that Sasuke was a private person and he didn’t like when people poked into his business uninvited. If there was something on his mind that he was willing to talk about, he would try to engage in conversation too, right?

Long, _long_ minutes passed in silence and Sakura felt so uncomfortable that she was sure that she would be able to cut through the tension in the air with her kunai. She ended up passing her fingers along the slightly rough but beautiful textile that was covering her sheets. It was a loom woven bedspread with red, yellow and brown strips – desert colors. Her mind became filled with memories of her time in Suna, of the time when Chiyo had realized that Sakura didn’t know much about Suna’s culture and had given her a tour to show her some traditional places and crafts. Sakura had been amazed by their cultural richness, something that she’d never actually seen in Konoha. Somehow, settling in a place as inhospitable as that one had bloomed into a particular way of life that had bloomed into a different kind of folklore. Chiyo had always been proud of her homeland and its people; hardworking and loving of their traditions. Sakura had truly only first seen the true love for one’s nation when she met an older woman – for some reason younger people like herself lacked that.

She suddenly felt like there had been eyes on her and looked up to notice that Sasuke had turned his body towards her. His eyes were examining her intently and his face was completely blank, so Sakura couldn’t guess what was going through his mind. She simply locked eyes with him for a moment, waiting for him to speak. After what seemed like an eternity, Sasuke looked away for a moment as if hesitating and then back at her.

“…are you fine?” he asked quietly. Oh. So he did notice the tension. Sakura knew him well enough to see that, beyond his aloofness and general laidback attitude, he was aware that things were not… completely right between them. Sakura also immediately knew that Sasuke had known that she’d been thinking at the moment.

“Well… yeah.” Sakura shrugged a bit. “As good as I can be right now.”

Sasuke nodded slightly and looked at his hands, that were intertwined and resting on his bent knees. Sakura looked at her feet and cursed that uneasiness between them, which had once again turned into an uneasy silence. How to try to even bring up the subject of whatever it was that was bothering him? Sakura looked up once again, just as Sasuke looked at her and she bit her lower lip. He didn’t look too fazed by any of it, but she noticed the slightest tension in his shoulders.

“Are you all right?” Sakura decided to speak again.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Sakura didn’t know if Sasuke tone was confused or withdrawn. She wouldn’t know unless she spoke to him once again. The best course of action was to first try to say that she was sorry for their argument – she knew that she’d had every reason to be upset, but might’ve not spoken in the most composed manner. She opened her mouth to speak again but a knocking on the door interrupted her. Sakura jerked up and looked towards the door, wondering if Kakashi had left without keys.

Before she could move, Sasuke stood up and walked to the door to open it in one swift move. On the other side of the door was not Kakashi, but Gaara. He nodded in greeting – which Sasuke mirrored – and then leaned sideways to look at Sakura, who was still sitting cross-legged on her bed. Sakura immediately knew that Gaara wanted her to leave the room, most certainly to talk about what had happened. Sasuke apparently realized it too, because he left the door open and moved out of the way, clearing the way out of the room. Sakura put her shoes on and strolled towards the hallway, smiling briefly at Sasuke when she passed by him and then at Gaara. She felt Sasuke’s eyes on her as she left the room – his ever sharp eyes burning a hole on her back – and then heard the door close as she walked away with Gaara.

Sakura was partly glad that she would get to talk to Gaara before the next day – they would probably leave as soon as the funeral ended the next day – but partly frustrated because she hadn’t had the chance to speak to Sasuke. In the end, she knew that this was the only chance she’d get to speak to Gaara in a long time, while on the other hand she could speak to Sasuke any other day.

Gaara was quiet as he led her up the stairs of the building that they had all been settled into, but it wasn’t a tense silence like the one that she’d been feeling around Sasuke ever since last night. Somehow, despite their almost kiss, there wasn’t any tension between them and there was only a comfortable knowledge that there were things to discuss. Gaara led Sakura to the rooftop – they always had met in high places to spend time when she still lived there – and they sat down on the ledge. They looked down at the village for a while, until Gaara spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

Sakura’s eyes widened and she looked at Gaara curiously, wondering what exactly he was apologizing for. “Why?”

“I shouldn’t have done that in front of everyone.” He admitted. “I also didn’t know about Chiyo at the moment. You didn’t need to have anything more on your mind at the moment.”

“Oh… don’t worry.” Sakura’s lips formed a small smile. She sucked on her lower lip and then looked down to the buildings again. “Why?”

“Do I have to say it aloud?” Gaara said calmly. Sakura was pretty sure she knew why he’d done that – she was no idiot – but she had to ask anyways. “I don’t mind clarifying though. I care about you as more than a friend. I have for a long time.”

“Gaara.” Sakura’s eyes softened.

She looked at the redhead in front of her and wondered if there was an unknown feeling for him inside of her. Maybe she just hadn’t noticed and she could give it a shot, right? Gaara was such an amazing person. He was smart, kind and emotionally strong. He had been through so much and had grown into a mature adult in the body of a teenager. Sakura also had fun with him and she trusted him a lot too – almost as much as she trusted Naruto. Looking at him once again – Sakura had noticed that for some reason she never noticed the appearance of her close ones – she realized that he was also handsome. She imagined that if she were to feel something other than friendship for him, they could come be very happy. But the problem was that she didn’t.

Looking at Gaara was almost like looking at Naruto. Not quite the same – because she truly honestly saw the blonde as a _brother_ – but close enough to know that she didn’t feel what _he_ did. She was comfortable around him, but there was not an ounce of attraction towards him. Not in the way that she had always felt towards Sasuke, which she _still_ did up to this days after all these years. That fact made even _the thought of_ betraying her own feelings – and Gaara’s – not an option. After being caught in her thoughts for a while, Sakura frowned.

“I’m sorry. I don’t feel the same way. The only way I can look at you at the moment is as a friend.” Sakura pressed her lips into a tight line. “It’s not that I wouldn’t want to _try,_ but it’s just that…”

“It’s Sasuke, isn’t it?” Gaara smiled softly. For some reason, there was no sadness in his eyes, just understanding.

“Wha- how?” Sakura raised her eyebrows. She didn’t even try to deny it; she didn’t feel the need to. But it was definitely a wonder how he’d known… because the only people who had known about it had been Temari and Chiyo.

“I had my suspicions when you lived here… but I confirmed them when I saw you today.” He chuckled. “You kept throwing glances at him all the way back to Suna. It was really obvious to me.”

“Was it?” Sakura frowned, briefly pondering if Sasuke had noticed it too, and then waved the thought away. She cleared her throat again and tried to go back to the previous subject. “Anyways… I can’t do it. I wouldn’t be truthful if I did, not to myself and not to you.”

“I know. I didn’t ask to talk to you to try and convince you. I just wanted to clear things up before you left… you know that tomorrow will be a busy day and then you’ll have to go back.”

“Yeah… we barely got to see each other.” she looked down and was silent for a while. “You know that you could find someone else in no time, right?”

“Not anyone will do.” Gaara said.

“I know. But there are a lot of worthy girls – and, um, boys? – out there.”

Gaara didn’t say anything, knowing that Sakura was right but at the same time knowing that she was not. There were plenty of women that would be good for him, but it was just not the same. Nonetheless, Gaara knew when to be patient and he was certain that time would make things right for him. Either with Sakura or someone else. Despite that, he didn’t want to lose Sakura’s friendship and for a moment regretted his sudden and impulsive actions. His expression must’ve betrayed what he was thinking, because she immediately saw through him.

“We can still be friends, you know?” Sakura said. “If you want to, that is.”

“No way.” Gaara lifted his hand in fake annoyance, but then chuckled and elbowed her in the side lightly. “Of course we can. I never intended to make this a dead end. When I was about to die, I just regretted not letting you know. It was like there was a secret between us and I didn’t like that.”

Damn, Sakura was missing out on so much. Gaara was the epitome of trust, loyalty, and peacefulness in a relationship; she knew him well enough to be sure that he would be a great partner for life. Sakura wanted to bang her head against a wall for _still_ being stuck on Sasuke – a proud, stubborn, impulsive, and slightly rude man… which was not at all that bad, because she somehow liked all of that about him all the same. It made him so much more interesting and attractive.

When thinking about how much Gaara trusted her, Sakura felt a pang of guilt for keeping so much from him; her time-travel, the true face of Danzo and her mission to Suna, the fact that he was going to be kidnapped by the Akatsuki. However, knowing that she’d only kept information from him and had never truly been _false_ made her feel a little better. The day would come when she would be able to tell him everything, but that day was not today.

“I’m glad you told me. I had wondered about that before, but I never brought it up. ” Sakura smiled a bit. “Even though most people would probably feel uncomfortable now, it just feels as if now we’re… on a steadier ground.”

“I really missed you.” He smiled and put an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him.

“How could you not?” Sakura hugged him back and felt a big part of her load dissipate – not that it truly had, but clearing up one issue felt encouraging.

After a couple seconds, Gaara gave her one last squeeze and let go. They sat on the rooftop for a long time, talking like they hadn’t in months. Catching up on how they’d been doing and talking about what they’d been through that past few days, from both Gaara’s and Sakura’s point of view. Gaara’s feelings when he’d been taken away and Sakura’s feelings regarding Chiyo’s death.

Sakura suddenly realized that they must’ve been up there for over an hour and that she needed to leave; she still had a big day ahead of her. Gaara walked her back to her floor and she made her way to her room. She slowly opened up the door and noticed that it was already dark inside the room, with Sasuke and Kakashi already asleep in their beds. She took her small hygiene bag and rushed to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and put on her pajamas before heading back.

She felt a small smile tug at her lips when she settled in between the sheets and warmth finally surrounded her. Despite how hard the day had been, the end of it had been better than she expected. Any unfinished business between her and Gaara was now cleared and she had gotten to spend time with a close friend – something that she hadn’t done in a long time besides from Ino.

Sasuke’s back was turned towards her, his breathing slow and steady. Sakura wondered if he was asleep and what he would think of her leaving with Gaara for over an hour. She didn’t really think there was even a small chance of Sasuke being jealous, but she still hoped that he wouldn’t get the wrong idea. 

Her mind was filled then with memories of Chiyo, but they somehow didn’t assault her like they’d done until then. As she thought about her older friend she was suddenly filled with a nostalgic feeling. It was still a bit heavy on her chest, but it was no-where near as heartbreaking as what she’d felt earlier that day. It also was not at all close to what she’d felt when Tsunade died. Maybe the fact that Chiyo had originally died at this point of time had prepared her a bit for everything. Maybe the fact that she’d gotten to say goodbye to her had helped her accept Chiyo’s death. It also helped that Chiyo hadn’t been _murdered_ as Tsunade had.

Nonetheless, Sakura was glad that she wasn’t plagued by regret, shame, and anguish like when her shishou had died. Her mind mostly remembered the happy times that she’d spent with Chiyo and decided that her approach to her death had been like one of a granddaughter with a terminally ill grandmother. She missed her and would’ve liked spending more time with her, but she didn’t feel desperate about it. Sakura drifted off to sleep sooner than she had expected and, surprisingly, had no nightmares that night.

**-x-**

Chiyo’s funeral was held early in the morning and it had lasted almost an hour. Gaara gave a speech that commended her bravery and loyalty, along with her sense of justice and rightfulness. Sakura stood next to Kakashi during the whole ceremony and his presence had been expectedly comforting. He had known how close she’d been to the woman and he had been understanding with her; he had lost people in battle too and he could relate to her. He hadn’t said a word to her about it, but his general approach to her was carefully tender. When the ceremony was over and they were heading back to their rooms to pack their things, he put his hand on her shoulder.

“How are you?” his lone eye softened.

“I will miss her.” Sakura admitted but she smiled softly. “But I’m grateful that she had a painless death and that she got to choose how she left this world. Her life was not taken instead she made a decision; it’s a meaningful death and probably one of the best ways to die.”

“See?” Kakashi patted her shoulder. “You’re stronger than you think.”

Sakura didn’t say anything and simply nodded absentmindedly. She could feel Sasuke’s eyes on her as he walked a bit behind her and Kakashi. He had been unusually quiet the whole morning and had only spoken to her to say that he was sorry for her loss at the beginning of the funeral. He didn’t seem to be acting as distant as he had the previous day, when he had practically ignored and evaded her. Sakura wasn’t sure if he was keeping his distance because he was still upset or if he was trying to give her space.

They got to their room and packed their belongings before heading back to the gates and meeting Team Gai. Gaara and Temari – Kankuro was probably still bed-ridden – got there before they could leave and thanked them all for their help. Gaara approached Sakura last and he smiled at her before she hugged him tightly.

“I’m going to miss you.” She said into his shoulder.

“We’ll just have to find a way to meet from time to time. Also, don’t forget to write.” Gaara gave her one last squeeze and then leaned back. He took a step back and looked at the rest of them. “Have a save journey back home.”

“Thank you, Kazekage-sama.” Kakashi bowed a bit along with everyone else.

Temari held Sakura back as the rest of Konoha shinobi started walking. She raised her eyebrows and turned her head to face the blonde. Temari hugged her and whispered into her ear.

“You’ll be fine.” The smirk was apparent on her voice. “Besides, no one can stay depressed for long in the presence of _that._ ”

The Suna kunoichi jerked her head at Sasuke’s… ass. Sakura couldn’t keep in the laugh that built in her throat; she’d almost forgotten how straightforward Temari was. She rolled her eyes as she walked away from the blonde.

“I’ll remember that whenever I feel down.” Sakura chuckled and waved one last time at the two siblings before catching up to the rest of the Konoha shinobi.

The journey through the desert was as hard as always but they kept a steady pace. They had just gotten a good night’s rest on a _bed_ and had had their injuries treated. They’d also received real meals and not just the packed crap or burnt meat that they usually ate while out on missions. They only stopped for a late and quick lunch under the shade of a rocky formation, but took off fifteen minutes later.

When the sun was hitting the horizon they already were at the edge of the desert and the climate was not as harsh. They quickly found a place to set up camp and decided that team Gai would go hunting for dinner while Team Kakashi would gather some firewood.

“All right! Whoever gets something first will do five-hundred pushups!” Lee pumped his fist into the air.

“Ah!” Gai’s eyes were sparkling. “That youthful spirit! All right, team! Let’s go!”

Neji and Ten-ten rolled their eyes and slowly headed to the forest, while their two other team mates had left running in a split second. Kakashi looked at his team and quietly motioned towards the forest, signaling them to follow him that way.

“Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura spoke and he turned his head to look at her as they walked. “I would like to take this chance to have some time for myself. I’d like to gather firewood on my own.”

“Hm… I guess that you need that.” Kakashi mused. “All right, we’ll meet back here in fifteen minutes.”

Sakura immediately turned around and started walking into the part of the forest where no one else was likely to head into. She saw from the edge of her eye that Sasuke tilted his head to look at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes; she didn’t want him to even _consider_ going after her. She had suspected that Sasuke wanted to talk to her, because he’d kept throwing glances at her ever since they stopped to set up camp and because they simply had things to talk through. Sakura needed no one to follow her right now – _especially_ not Sasuke – otherwise things could become nasty for everyone involved.

Sakura had been both dreading and looking forward to this moment ever since they left Suna. She had no way to know if Itachi would be lurking around in the forest at the moment. She wasn’t even sure if Itachi would actually come to meet her at all, but she was counting on it because she had learned to trust his commitment to his mission. Nonetheless, despite not knowing if he would follow her instructions, she had to give him a chance to approach her.

The thought of meeting him was making her angsty and it was no wonder. If she got to speak to him about this, it could change the course of _so_ many things. If Itachi were to take her side, they would have a much bigger chance of stopping the Juubi from ever coming to life. They might even have a chance of stopping Danzo… though that might be too much to expect. Nonetheless, Sakura was sure that this moment would be one of the most important ever since she got there and that she could _not_ screw this up.

Her feet took her into the forest at quite a fast speed as she took some firewood that she came across, since it would do her no good to get back to camp without any at all. After a while, Sakura had walked almost 500 meters into the forest when she saw a river with a fast current from between the trees. She was going to walk that way, but the _faintest_ presence pulsated to her right. Her eyes widened and she sharply turned to face that way. She’d _never_ encountered anyone with such a good ability to conceal their presence; Sakura considered herself a good sensor and had just now felt it. Itachi had clearly been confident when masking his chakra signature – it was not a surprise through given that he’d been a rogue shinobi for almost a decade – because he had a surprised look when he jumped down from the tree – surprised in his standards anyways.

“You must be quite a sensor if you managed to spot me when I didn’t want to be found.” His voice was soft and low, just like Sakura remembered. She couldn’t believe that no one had noticed how kind he was, no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise.

“Well… that’s something to be expected after all.” She smiled and nodded her head once in greeting. Itachi would soon find out why she’d become such a good sensor…

“You should know that we can’t be wasting any time.” Itachi said as he turned to keep on walking away from her camp, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the rest of them. “How do you even know that Madara exists?”

“I… ah. It’s a long story.” Sakura sighed and took a deep breath in before speaking one again. “I… I’m from the future.”

Itachi stopped dead in his tracks and sharply turned his head to look at her, his eyes glinting dangerously. “I’m not here to joke around.”

“I’m serious.” Sakura stepped back when Itachi took a step forward. Her heartbeat sped up and she unconsciously dropped the firewood she’d gathered.  “I traveled back in time a couple years ago.”

“Really?” his voice was disbelieving and Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine when she noticed his threatening demeanor. Itachi was kind, but he was ruthless when he needed to be; it was not a coincidence that he’d been a part of a criminal organization for almost a decade. He took another step forward, forcing Sakura to step back and hit a tree trunk. “How do I know you’re not lying or delusional?”

“I know things that I shouldn’t otherwise.” Sakura swallowed hard when his eyes narrowed at her, silently demanding an explanation. She quickly went through all of the things that she was aware of and tried to find the one that would make the most impact. It had to be something that only Itachi knew and that had already happened. She didn’t think twice before speaking up, almost failing at keeping the tremble from her voice. “I know the truth about the attempted Uchiha coup and their massacre. Also about Danzo’s and Madara’s involvement in those events.”

“Not good enough.” Itachi pushed Sakura further against the tree with his forearm on her collarbone. “If you’ve met Madara, he could’ve easily told you about all that.”

“Let me think of something else!” Sakura closed her eyes tightly, because she needed to concentrate and Itachi’s Mangekyo was not letting her focus. She finally found something else and opened her eyes to look at the older man in front of her. She knew that this was a slightly sensitive subject, so she spoke quietly. “I know that Danzo took Shisui’s eye to prevent him from changing the Uchiha Leaders’  minds. I also know that he gave you his other eye before dying.”

Itachi’s eyes widened in shock; he clearly hadn’t expected her to know such a thing. His whole body was tense and he was staring up at her, clearly trying to let the thought settle. After some time, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

“All right. Let’s say I might believe you for now.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “But I’m still wary of this whole thing.”

“I know. I wouldn’t believe it if it weren’t me in this position.”

“So, what about Madara?”

“Well… it’s not _really_ about Madara. Maybe only partly.” Sakura admitted and the older Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

“So, you only mentioned his name to get my attention?”

“I did. I’m sorry.”

“No matter. What’s the real issue then?”

“Well… in the past I come from Sasuke becomes a psychopathic criminal and the world is destroyed by the Akatsuki – or the Juubi more accurately.”

Itachis blinked a couple times and frowned. “This seems… not the kind of thing that can be talked over in five minutes.”

“I know.” Sakura huffed in frustration. “We’re already running out of time; they’re probably wondering why I’m not back yet.”

“Use genjutsu. Like you did when we first met in Konoha.”

“Oh.” Sakura’s eyes widened in remembrance. Of course she had to use genjutsu for this. She had, after all, designed that particular genjutsu for this task, but had completely forgotten about it until that moment. “You remember about that.”

“How could I forget? Orochimaru putting a cursed seal on Sasuke and then his older crazed face…”

“Right… So, I’ll do it now.” Sakura informed him and raised her hand to touch the exposed skin on his arm.

Itachi didn’t fight the genjutsu that she was casting on him. Sakura’s mind was quickly making decisions about what to show him, because she certainly didn’t have time to show him _everything_. Her genjutsu was no Tsukiyomi, so time _did_ pass while she was using it on someone. She would show him the most important events that explained Akatsuki’s actions and Sasuke losing his way.

Her mind soon became clouded with the dark and painful memories that she needed to vividly remember in order to show him. Memories that she would everyday wish wouldn’t exist. She wished that she hadn’t been through so much pain before and that she could regain her past innocence. However, Sakura held on to those memories at the same time. They made her _feel_ so much that she felt her carefully built composure crumble around her.

Sasuke getting the cursed seal and starting his road down the path of hate was a wakeup call for her. Sasuke deserting Konoha and Naruto leaving for training gave her the resolve to improve and become a better shinobi. Sasuke deciding to destroy Konoha after finding the truth about Itachi broke her apart, but it also showed her how fragile a person could be when lost. Konoha’s destruction under Pain’s command was hard, but showed Naruto’s potential and it brought everyone in the village together. The declaration of war from Tobi and the Akatsuki against every shinobi village was a hit, but it created an understanding that had never existed before between nations. The destruction of the world and the countless deaths caused by the Juubi were traumatic for her, but she understood how important peace was and what really mattered in life.

After living through so much pain, Sakura became who she _was_. Her pain and all that she had experienced had molded her character and it had given her purpose. No matter how much Sakura wanted it all to go away sometimes, she still felt like it was all a too big part of her to simply erase. Despite that, the memories still managed to shake her to the core and she doubted that she would ever be able to someday look back on them with a calm state of mind.

Sakura also showed Itachi how things had changed with Konoha and Sasuke ever since she traveled back in time. She didn’t know how much time had passed ever since she began the genjutsu, but when she was finished she opened her eyes to find her sight blurry with tears. She looked at Itachi, who was covering his face with his free hand – the other was still on her collarbone – and had his eyes wide in disbelief. Of course he would react like that. Itachi had always planned everything carefully in order to protect both Konoha and Sasuke. He had obviously never expected _everything_ to go _that_ wrong.

Suddenly, they both became aware of a third presence that had just jumped down onto the forest floor behind Itachi. Sakura jolted in surprise and turned her head to look at Sasuke, who was staring up at the both of them with a shocked expression. In a split second, Itachi’s forearm was pressed violently against her collarbone and she felt the air get kicked out of her lungs. Before she could even try to regain her breath, Itachi’s hand took hold of her jaw in a bruising manner and forced her to meet his eyes. Sasuke’s voice became distant as she felt the Mangekyo Sharingan take effect on her.

“Sakura!”

When she lost consciousness and her body became limp, Itachi pulled her up against his chest with one hand. With the other one, he took a kunai out and pressed it against her throat. Sasuke, who had been halfway to where they were, stopped abruptly when he saw the blade a couple millimeters away from taking her life.

“ _Itachi!_ ” Sasuke hissed and glared at him. “Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!”

“She Doesn’t? Are you sure?” Itachi spoke slowly, dragging the words in a patient manner.

“Don’t _fuck_ with me!” Sasuke yelled and scowled at his older brother. When he went out to find Sakura, he had _never_ expected to find her being cornered against a tree by Itachi. He had been shocked to see Sakura’s tear struck face and had been itching to see what face his brother had been making. What had he even said to her that had shaken her so deeply? “What do you want with her?”

“Hm… that’s for me to know and for you to wonder.” Itachi’s face was blank when he spoke. He then pushed Sakura’s head upwards, further exposing her neck, and pressed the kunai to her jugular artery.

“ _Stop_!” Sasuke screamed – surprised at the desperate tone of his own voice – but didn’t move forward in fear that he would cut through her neck.

“You have two options.” Itachi explained patiently. “Either you come over here and fight me thus forfeiting her life, or you step back towards the forest and let her live.”

Sasuke clenched his jaw and stood there, frozen for a moment. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to let Itachi just get away from him _yet again_? Was he supposed to let Itachi make a fool out of him? Sasuke hated that thought, but just thinking about the other option made his stomach churn. Allowing Itachi to murder yet another important person in his life seemed like a far worse defeat. Letting _Sakura_ die for his own desire of revenge sent a nauseating feeling down his throat.

“So, what is it going to be?” Itachi pressed.

Sasuke cursed under his breath, but stepped back into the forest slowly, not turning his back on his brother; he would watch _every_ move that Itachi made. The older Uchiha walked back towards the river, his eyes never leaving Sasuke and his kunai never leaving Sakura’s throat. When Itachi was just at the edge of the river bank, he smiled in an almost _tender_ way. It made Sasuke boil in anger; was he making _fun_ of him?

However, every thought in his mind froze at Itachi’s next actions. He put the kunai away and threw Sakura’s unconscious body into the rapid waters of the river. Sasuke felt his heart stop for a moment when he realized that she would drown if he didn’t do anything. His body dashed forward as fast as his legs would carry him towards the river.

As Sasuke moved closer to the river bank, Itachi took off upstream – exactly where Sasuke wouldn’t be going at the moment. When their paths crossed, Sasuke’s eyes met his brother’s and they stayed locked upon each other as time seemed to slow down. Sasuke couldn’t help the scorching _hate_ that filled him at the knowledge that his brother had attempted to kill Sakura – hopefully just attempted. He wanted so badly to just _rip_ his eyes from their sockets for everything Itachi had done to him.

Despite how mad he felt, Sasuke didn’t make the mistake of getting lost in the feeling. His body turned away from where Itachi had left and followed the river where Sakura’s body was going downstream.

If Sasuke had only been a bit calmer when locking eyes with Itachi, he would’ve immediately noticed the overflowing pride that was apparent in his older brother’s eyes. And of course he had reason to be; Sasuke was just so different from the person he’d turned out to be in another life. He was putting the life of his friends before his own hate-driven goals.

 

**A/N: Ok. I can’t wait to hear what you guys think about this chapter!**

**What did you think about Gaara and Sakura’s conversation? Were some of you rooting for Gaara and Sakura? Some of you have mentioned that before!**

**Do you think that Sasuke is jealous? What about his strange behavior? Sakura has many theories for that… do you think she’s right in one of them? Is there ANOTHER reason why he’d upset?**

**Itachi and Sakura’s meeting… was it believable? What do you think will happen now that Sasuke saw them in the woods? Will he be suspicious?**

**What will happen with Sakura? – of _course_ she won’t die, she’s the main character and this is no GOT – will Sasuke get to her?**

**ANYWAYS. I wanted to thank everyone who’s been constantly leaving reviews. There are many readers that leave a review _every_ chapter. It really means a lot to me to know that some people are enjoying this. **

**I also want to thank my beta reader – MonochromeAce – for always finding time to read through the chapters. I finish chapters quite quickly – a 7-9k chapter every one or two weeks is a lot for me at least – and she always helps me out!**

**Thank you all for reading!**

 

 

 

 


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